Gimme Sympathy
by Operamuse
Summary: When Amelia Jones decides that Ivan Braginsky needs a hero she takes it upon herself to lift his spirits. Too bad the Russian has decided to find out who is responsible for this anonymous act of goodwill. Fem!AmericaXRussia
1. Chapter 1 So Happy I Could Die

**Alright this is my first attempt at RussiaXFem!America. That's right, not slash but hetero just fyi. Hopefully this doesn't suck cause the plot has me by the horns and is making me write. Reviews are appreciated and feed my muse. Enjoy!**

Ch 1: So Happy I Could Die

"Very well then. If no one else has anything to say-" Germany began as the World Conference came to an end.

"But what about the vote to file a restraining order against Sealand!" England shouted.

"As I was saying," Ludwig said tightly as a vein began to throb in his forehead.

"Don't ignore me Kraut!" Arthur ground out as America put a hand on his shoulder.

"Dude you gotta get over it," she laughed.

"How anyone can ignore that juvenile delinquent wanker is beyond me!" Arthur muttered while

Amelia snickered.

"Geeze I didn't know you hated kids so much. You hid it pretty well when you raised me," she said in a mock serious tone.

"That's not…I do not.." Arthur sputtered.

"I'm kidding," she winked as he blushed. "Francis must be losing his touch if you're this uptight."

She turned to her right and grinned at Russia who had overheard the entire conversation.

"Am I right?"

Ivan merely chuckled while Arthur shot dirty looks at the former Soviet state.

"I say why are you being so nice to him anyway?" Arthur whispered as Russia got up and walked over to Ukraine and Canada.

"Duh, in case you hadn't heard _mate_, his sister is dating my brother," Amelia said rolling her eyes. "It's like we're in-laws or something."

"That's very grown up of you considering the Cold War didn't end too long ago," Arthur remarked.

"I'm over it," she shrugged indifferently.

"Just be careful. There's a difference between being polite and trusting someone like Braginsky."

"I wouldn't go that far," Amelia said as she snapped open a can of coke.

"I'm glad to hear it," Arthur sniffed as Francis reached his side and ran a hand down his shirt front.

"Did I hear that my little Angleterre is being cranky?"

"Yup. That's our uptight Limey," Amelia smirked.

"Oh I will have to remedy this mon amour," Francis purred as Arthur blushed.

"It's none of your business!"

"I am making it my business tonight."

"Please behave yourself! We're in front of god and every country on earth," Arthur chastised as Amelia sauntered off sipping her drink.

She was actually happy for Arthur and Francis. She didn't know when that had happened. Maybe because her heart barely hurt anymore when she thought about them together.

She belched and earned a few dirty looks from several of the nations but most of them ignored her behavior as she made her way over to Japan.

"Sup Kiku?"

"Hello Amelia-san," he replied quietly. "Are we still having game night on Thursday?"

"Oh yeah definitely. I'm gonna whup your ass at Mario kart," Amelia laughed in anticipation. "You bring the sake and pocky. Hey that kinda rhymes!"

"Your personality is still very robust and loud and yet I am able to overlook," Kiku responded. "I look forward to our meeting."

"Me too," she agreed giving him the thumbs up. She sauntered off, intentionally walked around Cuba and waved to Katya.

"Hello Amelia!" the Ukrainian greeted her.

"Hiya lady. So how's my brother been treating you these days?" she said.

"Matvey is wonderful," the girl said blushing prettily.

"That's good. I'd hate to give him the noogie of the century for making one of my best friends upset. And then I'd have to disown him which you know would make family reunions really awkward!"

"You're so funny, like your brother," Katya smiled. "I should be going but we should have girls night soon da?"

"For sure!" Amelia called waving as she headed out the door where she nearly ran into the backsides of two trembling Italians who were facing Russia. He was trying to speak to them with his most earnest, friendly smile but it didn't look like it was working. She watched as the scared Italians finally produced white flags and then ran like hell around the tall nation as if fleeing for their lives.

That's when she saw it. It was brief, but Ivan's whole demeanor changed in that instant. His smile faltered, his bottom lip quivered and his shoulders slumped in defeat. In all the years that she had known him, after everything they'd been through including the fall of the Soviet Union she had never seen him look so defeated.

(Section Break)

At home in her D.C. townhouse Amelia laid out on the floor with a giant red pillow behind her head as she stared at the ceiling. Her legs were propped up on the couch next to the alien playing Pacman on a gameboy.

All afternoon she had been thinking about Ivan Braginsky. She could not get him out of her head no matter how hard she tried. Ice cream with potatoes chips couldn't make her forget. Even blogging about how America was the best hadn't helped at all.

Why did she even care? Russia was her former ally turned enemy turned neutral nation in law, nothing more. They had history and sure there were a lot of feelings there, but sympathy had never been one of them. Well almost never.

She huffed and Tony looked over at her and tilted its head.

"You should have seen the look on his face. Like he was devastated," she muttered to herself.

"Who?" Tony asked.

"Eh Russia," Amelia groaned sitting up. "I don't know why I feel like I should help him out. It's not like I care, but…"

She got to her feet suddenly with a glint in her blue eye and pumped her fist.

"That's it. I'm the heroine after all! It makes sense, that's what we do. We extend a hand to people who need it because that's just a part of being heroic!"

Amelia grinned while Tony got up and walked into the next room.

"This calls for some thinking food yo," Amelia announced as she pulled a box of cold pizza from the fridge.

With a slice of cold pizza hanging from her mouth she moved to the living room where Tony had pushed out the translucent dry erase board.

"Oh America why are you buying an erase board like the one in House? It'll just be a waste of time cuppa tea cuppa tea cuppa tea," Amelia mocked in an English accent as she took a red marker and began to write.

"We have one Ivan Braginsky, former head of the Soviet Union and embodiment of Russia. He has two sisters and three terrified underlings," she said out loud as she wrote furiously. "Lives in a cold region, lots of land, likes vodka, fan of figure skating, hockey…former communist…possibly had sex with Yao. Well that should do it."

She stood back and admired her work while she pondered what her next move would be given the information she had available at her fingertips. Tony texted from the couch while the female country remained deep in thought. When she pumped her fist excitedly the alien finally looked up.

"Dude I've totally got it!" she said jumping up in excitement. "Everybody loves getting presents and you know who gives presents? Santa! All I've gotta do is surprise the Commie like Finland and fly in a present to warm his black cold heart up!"

She turned to Tony who gave her the thumbs up and high fived the alien.

"Alright so we'll fly in covert and drop in vodka!" she said triumphantly. "He likes that booze so he'll totally love it if he steps outside and finds it raining down!"

She frowned slightly when Tony shook its head.

"What if he just thinks it's raining and never goes outside?" Tony inquired.

"Crud," Amelia said chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully."Maybe we could drop in figure skaters?"

(Section Break)

Ivan had to blink several times just to confirm that what he was seeing was real. Everything certainly seemed real enough. The harsh cold air on his skin felt real as did the minty taste of toothpaste in his mouth. It was the sunflowers falling from the sky that seemed so dreamlike. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, raining down around his home. It was so very beautiful he could not help but stand in awe and watch as they fell around his home.

He had been in his bathroom getting ready for the day when he had first noticed. He had just gotten up from bed, his hair mussed and still wearing his striped pajamas when something outside his bathroom window had caught his eye. When he'd realized he was seeing sunflowers he'd dashed out into the cold morning light in his barefeet, toothbrush in hand.

It was so beautiful. The most lovely gift he had ever been given. With a bright childlike smile on his face, his purple eyes stared at the flowers as time stood still up until the last blooms hit the ground. After what felt like hours had gone by he looked up at the cargo plane above him that had been distributing the flowers. He was going to find out who it was exactly who had crossed into his homeland to deliver them.

"Farewell for now," he waved up at the departing plane. "I will find you later."

And with that he went back inside to make some important calls.

(Section Break)

Ivan gazed at his living room in satisfaction. Every surface from the mantel on the fireplace, to the tables and even the windowsills were covered with vases filled with sunflowers. It certainly brightened his day and it made him smile each time he saw the blooms.

"M-Mr. Braginsky sir!" a voice squeaked behind him.

He turned around and smiled brightly at Latvia who started shaking like a leaf, his arm outstretched with a manila envelope.

"Is that for me?" Ivan inquired, taking no notice to the terrified state of the Baltic country.

"Y-yes sir," Ravis whimpered.

"Thank you," Ivan said taking the envelope and perhaps a little too firmly ruffling the young man's hair before wandering in the direction of his home office.

He opened the door and made his way to his desktop, which was also covered with vases. He took a seat and at last extracted the contents of the envelope.

Ivan stared at the photographs spread out before him on his desk of the mysterious airplane. His intelligence agencies had been able to take many pictures of it before it had entered Finnish space.

He smiled predatorily. The only reason the plane had been allowed to leave Russian space was because he had allowed it. He could have had it shot down, but he was curious. It would have been a shame to end this new game so quickly. No one ever did anything so lovely as to literally shower him in flowers.

He certainly loved a good game of cat and mouse and he planned on enjoying himself as he worked to discover the identity of the person behind this whole thing. This was going to be fun to say the least.


	2. Chapter 2 Had to Hide Away

Thanks everyone, the response to first chapter was overwhelmingly kind and encouraging. Please continue to read and give me feedback, it feeds the muse. Enjoy!

Ch 2: Had to Hide Away

_1867_

_He sat back in a chair, his legs crossed at the ankles on the old filthy table where he languidly vodka from an old tin cup. The cabin had belonged to a fur trader at one time before being abandoned. Now it would serve as a meeting place between him and the country he would conduct business with. It was not the most glamorous place to finalize a deal and the temperature was quite frigid even with a fire crackling pathetically away in the hearth. He did not mind, he was used to the cold._

"_Sweet stars and stripes its freaking freezing!" a voice complained just before the door opened. _

_A young woman stepped inside the cabin and slammed the door shut behind her._

_Ivan couldn't help but stare curiously at her as she approached. She was less than two hundred years old and yet.. She appeared so vibrant and healthy despite the fact that she had been bruised and battered by civil war not too long ago._

_She would certainly be someone to keep an eye on. One so young and with such strength could prove to be valuable or an irritation. _

_She was hardly dressed like any woman he had encountered. Beneath her parka she wore fitted trousers and boots with spurs. Interesting. Even his sister Natalia wore dresses in their harsh homeland._

"_So little one," he said uncrossing his ankles and rising fluidly from his seat. "You are the America I've heard so much about!"_

"_Yeah I'm kind of a big deal," she said with a hint of a smirk and not just a little bit of arrogance. "And you're Russia huh?_

"_Da," Ivan remarked cheerfully as he continued his assessment. "I did not expect you to be so small in stature!"_

"_Anybody would be small compared to a freaking sasquatch," Amelia blurted cocking her hip out and crossing her arms over her chest._

"_What is sasquatch?" Ivan asked in confusion._

"_Pfft, whatever so am I taking Alaska off your hands or what?" she said impatiently._

_She'd always been strong country; being able to swing a buffalo around by its paws when she was still in nappies had proved a pretty good indicator of how much power she would have. But her stature was deceptive and helped her make people believe she was softer than she was. _

_No one would mistake Ivan Braginsky's power. His frame was big, even wearing layers of clothing to keep the cold at bay couldn't disguise that. He was a good head taller than her and she had a feeling he could give her a run for her money in a good old fashioned throw down._

_It wasn't necessarily knowing he was strong that made her vary; it was that smile. It was a friendly smile tinged with ice and danger._

_She hated to admit it but she kind of dug his nose. It gave his face character. People thought she looked adorable and that put them in the habit of not taking her seriously. This guy looked like he didn't have a hard time convincing people to treat him a certain way._

"_Of course!" Ivan said spreading his arms as if in invitation. "That is whole point of coming here. To give my Alaska to you."_

"_Got it," Amelia said. "My boss will be sending along the money and we can draw up the contacts."_

"_I am how you say happy to do business with you," Ivan replied and Amelia smiled. _

_It was a bright smile, all teeth and sunshine; a challenging grin._

"_Super dude," she replied. "One more state, friggin awesome."_

"_You are certainly exhuberant little one," Ivan couldn't help laughing in earnest._

"_Don't call me that abominable snow douche," she warned him as he continued to smile._

_He extended the tin cup to her and she looked at it cautiously, before her bravado kicked in and she accepted the glass._

"_To new acquaintances," Ivan said lifting up the bottle of vodka._

"_To expansion," Amelia shot back clinking her glass against the bottle._

_She swallowed her drink quickly and without pulling a face. So young. So experienced. So lovely. So much character. _

_He smiled and drank straight from the bottle with his purple eyes fixed on her as she. _

_What they felt the first time that they met was uncertainty, caution, and interest._

(Section Break)

Amelia slurped down a tall chocolate milkshake as she strolled into the World Conference wearing a snappy kohl black dress suit and flats. She had a crap ton of awesome ideas today and she was totally gonna get some shit done!

She was imagining how awesome it would be that she didn't notice a larger nation as he turned the corner. She found herself bumping into a wide chest and her shake a casualty as its contents fell onto her silk shirt and the the briefcase which sprang open upon impact on the floor.

"Oh frickin crap!" she groaned as the chocolate soaked the shirt.

Ivan grunted in annoyance and frowned down at the mess that had erupted in his briefcase almost instantaneously.

"Whoa my bad," Amelia said as Ivan bent down to retrieve his case.

He muttered something in Russian that she couldn't pick up on. She knelt down in front of him and when he finally stopped rummaging through his unsalvageable things she smiled.

"That's what you get for buying in China!"

He gave her a tight smile that didn't reach his glaring purple eyes and she relented.

"_Come on Jones, act like the heroine remember?"_ she thought.

"Look this sucks, so why don't I make it up to you?" she blurted.

She had the pleasure of seeing Ivan's look of surprise.

"How do you intend to make amends?" Ivan asked curiously.

"I dunno," Amelia shrugged. "But you better believe I'll think of something badass!"

"I see," he said thoughtfully. "I am sorry about your shirt."

"Me too," Amelia groaned.

She looked down into the briefcase at the mess inside and tilted her head when she noticed the contents.

"What's that a spy photo?" she inquired, attempting to sound casual.

"That is a plane that entered Russian space two weeks ago," he replied.

"Did it compromise security or something?" she said with a nervous laugh.

He glanced up at America. She was one of the few nations who even tried to engage him in conversation these days. It probably wouldn't hurt to explain the situation to her.

"It rained sunflowers down on my home," he said with a far away look in his eyes. "I would very much like to know who would do something like this for me."

"Wait you don't know who was flying this thing?"

"Da," he replied as he closed the briefcase and stood up to tower over her. "The only thing I know so far is that it entered Finnish space afterwards."

"So it's the Finns?" Amelia asked playing dumb as she got to her feet.

"Nyet. I have spoken to Tino," Ivan remarked. "According to him the pilot landed the plane and was not heard from again. But I then learned that the money used to procure the plane was wired from a Swiss bank account."

"So what are you going to do when you get a hold of this person? Question them in a detention center in Siberia?"

"We closed those down years ago."

"Sure ya did."

"How is Guantanamo Bay these days?" Ivan said with a bright smile.

"Well good luck with this!" she said walking off in the direction of the ladies room to discard her ruined shirt.

"Thanks," he said offhandedly before thoughts of his mysterious visitor once again consumed his thoughts.

The meeting went on as usual. Very little was accomplished in the bickering and dickery that usual accompanied world gatherings. Then Germany took charge once again and one or two things actually got accomplished; though world peace was still on the to do list.

"Meeting adjourned," Ludwig stated at last and Amelia sighed and stretched her stiff limbs. She couldn't wait to get up and-

"Oh shit," Amelia muttered as she watched Ivan wave at Vash.

She stared in horror as the large Russian stepped purposefully towards the Swiss nation.

"Dude calm down," Amelia thought to herself. "He's a neutral country. Besides there's no way he'd even know it was your account."

Before Ivan could reach the neutral territory Lili intercepted her brother and pulled him in the opposite direction.

"Oh thank god man," she murmured wiping off the cold sweat on her forehead in relief.

Now, just have to keep that big lug from getting to Vash before he could leave. She bounded across the room with a smile on her face that was so big it hurt.

"Any new leads?" Amelia exclaimed as she dashed in front of the former Soviet in her usual bubbly manner.

He raised his brows but didn't comment further, having grown accustomed to her exuberance. He could never forget how young America was. It was obvious in the way she behaved. She was so full of life and energy, carefree and naïve at times. There were even moments when he was by himself when he would think of her and chuckle. She was like a puppy sometimes, all energy and no coordination.

"Nyet," he murmured in disappointment.

She discreetly glanced over her shoulder and saw that Vash had indeed slipped away and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Natalia I thought you had gone home!"

Amelia turned back to find Ivan standing beside his sister; the insane one. She digging her knife into the plaster of the wall while Ivan shook noticeably and watched her nervously from the corner of his eye.

"Sup crazy," Amelia said folding her arms over her chest.

Belarus glared at her but said nothing which made Amelia smirk. Apparently she had learned from their last encounter that the American nation was not about to take anymore of her shit anytime soon.

"Big Brother have you found out who sent those flowers to you?" Natalia said in a tight angry voice.

"Nope! The search continues," Ivan said in a pleasant tone that didn't quite hide the tremor in his voice.

"No one sends my Vanya flowers," Natalia hissed. "How dare they!"

"Oh shut the front door," Amelia snorted. "Why the heck should it matter to you? Getting sunflowers is a lot less creepy and threatening than getting repeated marriage proposals from you sibling."

Natalia turned her face to glare intently at Amelia and leaned towards her as if getting ready to lunge. Amelia made a fist with her right hand and cracked the knuckles.

"Look just back the hell off and we can avoid me bringing out Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross."

"Who are you talking about?" Ivan murmured as his sister continued to glower.

"My fists stupid," Amelia shouted leaning in towards the Belarussin and making her flinch. "Now, back the hell off and go bug someone else."

Natalia gritted her teeth, but relented when Amelia took another step forward. She slowly slunk away while Amelia grinned.

"Amelia 2, Natalia nothing," she announced from the scoreboard in her head.

"You are one of few people I know who does cower from her," Ivan said looking at her in admiration.

"I don't know why, she's just a bully with a knife and heroine's don't let bullies get away with that kind of crap," she stated with a pleased smile. "So uh, you going to Mattie's place for the Olympics?"

"Hmm? Da I believe I will. Katya will be spending much time there and I would like to drop in and see them and to congratulate Matvey," Ivan replied.

"That's pretty cool of you. I can't wait," she said as they unconsciously began to walk out together. "I'm sure I'll be going home with a sweet load of medals."

"Perhaps my athletes will leave one or two for you to take home."

"Hey!"

"Who knows, if you manage to beat your brother at curling you might bring back two."

"Low blow Commie," she mock pouted as he gave her a genuine smile and she laughed.

"You can be such jerks!"

Amelia and Ivan both started when they realized that Matthew was actually standing less than a foot from them.

"Hello Matvey, I did not see you there," Ivan said in greeting.

"You wouldn't be the first," he muttered as Amelia wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"C'mon Mattie let's go get some Ihop," she said leading him towards the exit. "See ya big guy!"

"Farewell," Ivan sighed.

Amelia looked over her shoulder and watched the Russian looking disheartened. Oh yeah, she'd almost forgotten. She'd spilled chocolate shake all over his stuff and then she'd pretty much blocked him from getting any more leads on the sunflower incident. How did she make up for such a crappy day? Think Jones!

"Yo!" she called over to the huge country.

He looked over at her and blinked.

"When you get a day off, come over to my place and we'll hang," she winked. "My little way of paying you back for the accidental shaking!"

"Really?" Ivan said taken aback. "You could just buy me a new briefcase."

"Yeah that sounds like a lot of fun," Amelia cackled. "So you in?"

"Da."

"Sweet," she said waving as she and her brother left. "Now what the hell did I do that for?"

"Um who are you talking to Amelia?" Matthew asked.

"Don't worry about it," she sighed. "Right now I need to just eat until I can't walk."


	3. Chapter 3 Between the Good and Bad

**Okay back with another chapter. The words in italics are past experiences just fyi**

Ch 3 Between the Good and Bad is Where You'll Find Me

"Holy shit Mattie," Amelia grimaced in disgust. "That's so not right."

Her Canadian brother had learned to ignore his larger than life and over zealous sister at times and that's just what he did as he emptied the better part of a bottle of maple syrup on his stack of hotcakes. Amelia made a gagging noise as she cut into her own generous portion of pancakes and lifted her fork to her mouth.

"Hey sis? I just wanted to say thank you."

"What for?" Amelia said in surprise. "I mean I'm so freaking fantastic you have to be specific cause I don't know what you're talking about."

She grinned and Matthew rolled his eyes.

"I meant for-" he paused when they heard a few notes of music.

"What the frak was that?" Amelia said as he pulled out his phone.

"My ringtone."

"No duh, I mean what kind of song is that?"

"A New Pornographer's song," he stated as he smiled and his thumbs typed up a message.

"Figures," she muttered as her bro sighed happily. She had to smile at that and tease him a little.

"Kat?" she guessed.

"Yeah," he replied with a huge smile on his face.

"Dude, it's actually kinda cute."

"T-thanks," he said. "I really love her."

"I know man."

"It's pretty perfect how good we work," he went on.

"Now you're just bragging it up."

"I'm serious, we just fit together. We're not exactly important or powerful countries. I guess because we both are happy to hang back and do our thing. We go at the same pace."

"Yeah you two are pretty chill and laid back. I could never be with somebody like that!" Amelia exclaimed with a wink. "Good thing too otherwise I'd steal Kat from you."

Matthew snorted and shook his head.

"Right," he said skeptically.

"That's probably why it didn't work with Iggy," she mused to herself. "I wanted him to be the way I saw him when I was little. Larger than life, tough, strong, ambitious, fast paced."

She stuffed more pancake into her mouth and chewed as her brother received another text.

"Anyway, as I was saying before, I want to thank you for being nice to Ivan," Matthew said softly. "It means a lot to me and Kat that our families get along. I know it must be hard at times."

"You have no idea. Natalia is one crazy bitch," Amelia groaned.

"Well I meant her brother, but yeah," Matthew conceded with a sigh.

(Section Break)

In the morning Ivan woke and got ready for his day. He'd spent a good deal of time on the phone with Vash in the last couple days using politeness, and minor threats to try and cajole any information about his gift giver out of the Swiss nation but as he'd suspected the country had stubbornly refused him any information.

He stepped into his office wearing a thick pair of socks and clutching a mug of hot steaming tea with a splash of vodka. Taking a seat at his desk he prepared himself to start conducting business for the day. He turned on his computer and was just about to type in his password when a movement caught his eyes. His eyes scanned his desk and stared down at the petal that had fallen from the vase of sunflowers.

All of the bright flowers scattered throughout his home were at last beginning to droop and die. At first it had made him smile each time he entered a different room to find nothing but crowded surfaces bearing the flowers. Now that they were fading it made him incredibly sad. He was desperate to find this anonymous gift giver who had once filled his home with flowers and filled his heart with hopes of friendship and affection.

He wanted to learn the identity of the pilot who had flown in because maybe, just maybe if they cared enough to give him something so beautiful it meant that they would give him their friendship also.

His cell phone beeped and he removed it from his pocket to check the text message.

**When are we hanging out Commie? Btdubs this is the US of freaking A. Kat gave me your phone number. ;p**

He blinked. Ah yes, he had completely forgotten about his meeting with her in the last few weeks. He quickly type a reply and hit send.

**I am free in two weeks time**

He sat back and made up his mind to put the sunflower incident out of his mind for the time being. Perhaps taking a break would allow him to figure out how to go about his search more effectively. It wasn't as though he wanted for distractions. He had much work to do and tickets for the Firebird that night. He was just about to begin working when he received another text and of course couldn't resist checking it before really, finally getting to work.

**Sweet. I'll see you in Chicago, Illinois. Hero out. :D**

He laughed and texted her back, putting his phone on silent as he began rapidly typing on his computer.

**I look forward to it little one ^J^**

(Section Break)

_2004_

_Amelia arrived at the restaurant by herself and looked around for Mattie but didn't see the Canadian anywhere._

"_What the heck man," she whispered. Her brother was the one who had insisted in a very firm and unCanadian like way that he needed her to have dinner with him in Switzerland of all places. He'd sounded pretty serious so she had agreed. Now she was in Switzerland dressed to the nines with her brother nowhere in sight._

"_Bonjour Madamoiselle," the female server greeted her. "May I have your name please?"_

"_Yeah, its Amelia Jones," she remarked craning her neck as she searched fruitlessly for her brother. "Has anyone else from my group shown up yet?"_

"_Oui. A tall man and a dainty little woman have already arrived," the server informed her. "Right this way please."_

_Amelia furrowed her brow. Mattie was not a big guy and she had no idea why there would be a woman meeting them. She was led to a private dining room confined within clear glass walls so that the diners could see the mountains outside and the goings on in the rest of the restaurant._

"_Nice," Amelia remarked._

"_Merci mademoiselle. Please help yourself to the champagne while you wait for the rest of your party," the server said with a smile before leaving her on her own._

_Well not entirely on her own. Standing at the far end of the room and staring out at the snowy mountain peaks was none other than Ivan Braginsky. _

"_What..The..actual..hell," she muttered just as something sharp pressed into her lower back._

"_Is that a knife or are you just happy to see me?" Amelia chuckled knowing that Natalia Arlovskaya was on the other end of the blade pressed into her back._

"_Behave sister," Ivan called tiredly from the other side of the room._

_He had turned to regard her with a look of puzzlement that she no doubt mirrored. Not one to be intimidated by other countries Amelia turned back towards Belarus with a bored expression._

"_Not that this hasn't been entertaining but I'm gonna go grab some champagne before I start to doze off," she stated, walking off with her eyes scanning her sides in case Natalia tried anything._

_She lifted the bottle of champagne from the ice bucket and poured a frothy glass of it even though she really would have loved a milkshake. _

_She was certainly glad she had chosen such a nice outfit to wear. She hadn't seen what psycho pants had worn but Braginsky was wearing a very nice set of kohl black dress pants and a matching blazer with a dark green turtleneck beneath. He looked good she supposed, for a Commie._

_She had opted for a very nice Gucci women's pants suit. It was white and underneath she wore a burgundy silk shirt along with a pair of pumps._

"_Our sister Katyusha invited us to dine here. I am thinking you are not here at her invitation, da?" Ivan inquired as she lifted the flute of champagne to her pink painted mouth._

_She sipped the bubbly and regarded him coolly._

"_Mattie asked me here. It sure as hell wasn't my idea," she stated turning to the window to stare outside. "Although I am totally gonna get my snow boarding on since I'm here and all."_

"_Snowboarding?"_

_She looked over at Ivan who was regarding her with a curious expression._

"_Yeah its like skiing but on one ski kinda," she stated before facing him. "I guess if Kat's in on this one it can't be too bad. Unlike you two psychos, I happen to like your sister."_

"_You do not like me little one? I am crushed," he remarked with an icy smile that most would have mistaken for friendly._

"_Don't call me that Pinko!" she shouted irritably._

_He never let her forget the fact that she was such a young country. That was part of the reason she acted the way she did. If she didn't assert herself and take charge the other countries would walk all over her. She might not have earned their respect but none of them messed with her despite the fact that she was young and a woman. She knew how to handle them and if she came across as an asshole while she did it then so be it._

_Ivan laughed quietly and Amelia decided to take another drink of champagne so she wouldn't break it over a table and stab him with it. She discreetly scanned the windows to make sure Natalia wasn't about to strike and instead saw Ivan at her side in the glass._

"_You and I are not so different Amelia," Ivan said as he looked out through the window._

"_Oh I think we are," she said holding the champagne flute in a white knuckle grip._

"_We both wanted to be powerful. Invulnerable," Ivan continued as if he hadn't heard her. "With the best of intentions we tried to become those things. And yet the road to hell is paved with good intentions da?"_

"_Well yeah I made some mistakes here and there," Amelia shrugged uncomfortably as she thought about bringing her boys home from Vietnam._

"_As did I,"he said so quietly she almost didn't hear him. "You chose Democracy as the creed to live by and I Imperialism; when that did not work Communism."_

_He turned to her, a serious expression in his purple eyes that did not match the smile on his face._

"_Still I would not have changed any of my actions. I suspect if given the chance, you too would not change a thing."_

_She squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze and saw his grin widen. It was wicked spooky to listen to him speak like that because it was pretty damn accurate._

"_I hated you for a long time. Perhaps because you succeeded so many times where I failed. And because you had so much strength and yet were so young little one," he confessed with a bright smile. "The only way I could compete with you was to become your antithesis. The heroine's villain."_

_She eyed him warily, her blue eyes icy and her stance challenging with one hip out defiantly._

"_The Cold War may be over, but I am never going to like you or trust you Braginsky."_

"_I am relieved to hear we are on the how do you say same page!" he said in delight._

"_Brother why are you ignoring me!" Natalia whined suddenly from right behind him. Amelia noticed how the big menacing Russia turned pale and started to shake slightly as she wrapped her arms around his middle._

"_We could marry here in Switzerland and take a Chalet for a honeymoon big brother!" she whispered frantically as Ivan whimpered and Amelia bit her tongue to keep from laughing.  
>"Now Nattie, we have been over this," he stated in a firm tone that did not match his body language.<em>

"_But I want us to become one!"_

"_But I-"_

"_Marry ME!"_

"_Will you shut the hell up!"_

_The two Soviets turned towards America in surprise._

"_For frick's sake he doesn't want to marry you! Don't you get it? Why don't you settle down with one of those nice Baltic states, they're pretty cute."_

"_You dare," Natalia hissed as Amelia moved to refill her glass._

"_He's just not that into you; which incidently is an awesome book. Maybe if you had Sex and the City over in Eastern Europe it would've helped you get over this crap sooner," Amelia said in her usual brash voice. _

_Through the glass she saw Natalia lunge for her an instant before Ivan shouted a warning. Without a blink Amelia broke her glass on the cart and spun around to land a spinning kick in Natalia's stomach. Belarus went down on the plush carpeting, gasping for air and had no time to recover before Amelia was kneeling over her with the broken glass pressed to her throat._

"_You seriously don't want to screw with me," Amelia said in an upbeat tone as she raised her opposite hand to her face. There were some shallow cuts from the glass bleeding and she licked the droplets of blood as she continued to eye Natalia with too intense blue eyes._

"_Mia!" _

"_Oh hey Mattie," Amelia greeted her brother as she plucked the knife from Natalia's shaking hand. She turned to greet her sibling who was accompanied by a certain Ukranian._

"_Now why don't you two tell us what we're doing in Switzerland?" Amelia stated._

_Natalia scurried away while Ivan continued to watch Amelia with rapt attention. He had never seen anyone stand up to Belarus so fearlessly before. What had been most compelling was her expression; something about the way she had smiled so emotionlessly and licked her wound had resonated in himself. He shook himself out of his thoughts when he realized Matthew was stammering something._

"_Well you see," Matthew started quietly. "Kat and I have been getting to know each other lately.."_

_He blushed under the gazes of the others and Kat squeezed his arm supportingly._

"_K-Kat is my girlfriend," he managed finally._

_Amelia squealed and rushed her brother so hard that he had the wind knocked out of him._

_Ivan regarded his sister with a look of surprise._

"_Is this true Katya?" he asked her._

"_Yes brother. Please don't kill Matvey, I love him!" Kat pleaded._

"_Why would I kill him? I happen to like Matvey," he replied. "I'm happy for you."_

"_Thank you Vanya," she said walking over to him and kissing his cheek to which he smiled._

"_Dude this is so freaking great!" Amelia said pulling back to beam at Matthew. "You deserve the best Mattie and you've got her so take good care of her okay?"_

"_Of course I will," he replied seriously. _

_He joined Katya who was speaking to Natalia quietly leaving Amelia standing off on her on. _

"_You are truly glad they are together?" Ivan asked her as they watched the other three._

"_Well yeah. She's totally cool," Amelia said honestly. "I think it's great that my bro has someone like her."_

"_Matvey is a good man," Ivan conceded. "I do not think I will have to bludgeon him to death for hurting my sister so I too am happy."_

_He approached her slowly until she looked over at him. He extended his hand as they locked eyes._

"_Perhaps then for their sake we could agree to act more friendly."_

_She did not want to take that hand. Even during WWII she hadn't shaken his hand once. But, well it made sense. She loved her little bro, and Katya. A ceasefire was the right thing to do for them._

"_I guess we don't have much choice. It's almost like we're in-laws or something."_

_Finally she held out her hand and grasped his. It was a big wide hand. It was warm, and calloused, and almost completely covered hers. She gripped it firmly as they shook on it and wondered if this would come back to bite her in the ass._

(Section Break)

2010

As the red velvet curtains closed Ivan stood up from his seat and applauded until his hands stung as the ballerinas finished taking their final bows. He always felt such a rush of emotion at the finale of a ballet. He was one of the last to continue clapping as the lights were turned up in the theatre to guide patrons out into the chill Russian night air.

He sighed, hating to have to leave so soon. Even though he did have season tickets it made it no less difficult to tear himself away. Oh how he loved the Firebird! It was his favorite ballet even though it brought back many emotions and memories. It was a piece based on Russian folklore about a mythical creature that both blesses and curses its possessor. Though the main character was indeed named Prince Ivan that was not the reason he favored it so. He had little in common with the Prince who fell in love with a princess in the story. No, Ivan had always been captivated by the magnificent Firebird; a creature that was bewitching in its blazing brightness.

He sighed happily and thought of his beloved Tamara. She had been the first prima ballerina to play the Firebird and breathe life into the role. She had been stunning and his favorite ballerina to this day. He had sent her mountains of flowers to show his admiration over the years and received lovely notes from her as thanks. He had even dined with her once or twice when she was in Russia and their schedules had permitted it. But of course, all good things ended in his case. She left Russia shortly after the revolution and while that might have been fine for their friendship, it was another matter when her brother was arrested in Lithuania. She had blamed him for her brother's death and ceased communication.

He marched silently among the people traversing the crowded sidewalks of Moscow in groups or in pairs with arms linked. Yes this was why the end of ballets made him melancholy, because he was left wandering around with his feelings and no one to share them with.

Truthfully he hadn't had many friends since Tamara. It might sound like an exaggeration but he hadn't had the time to be friendly and social. His life had been so turbulent since the Revolution with the fall of Imperialism and then the internal struggles within the Communist party. By the time the USSR had been established he'd become the thing he'd wanted most to become. A world power, and along with that came fear and distrust.

The other capitalist nations were vary of him as they should have been; those under his control feared him. Then everything had changed. When he had grown weak under the strain of holding everything together until it all fell apart and he was left alone.

He sighed and found his car and got inside, deciding to return home and drink some vodka in front of the fire until the memories faded and he was warm and tranquil once more.

(Section Break)

**Okay so finally the America/Belarus confrontation. I really just don't think its in America's character to take crap from anybody so I can see her putting the kebash on that pretty darn quickly. There will be some actual America/Russia interaction next chapter so don't worry about that. I know it was a little dark when Amelia was defending herself but really I think all of the countries have some darkness inside them, its just that America is usually pretty upbeat and positive but that doesn't mean it isn't there.**

**I'm keeping the rating at T which will pretty much just be for language. I'm going to try to clean up some of the swearing but I don't think it'll be a problem. Thanks again for reading this you all and for the amazing feedback. I have basically the next four chapters written up but I'm waiting to post them because I am evil and I want to keep these updates about a week apart. High fives and hugs kids!**


	4. Chapter 4 Hot One

**Hello everybody, thank you all once again for tuning in. The response to this story has been very unexpected and I'm really happy with the kickass reviews from you dear readers. Please continue to give me feedback, it's really helpful and let's me know if I'm getting my ideas across and knowing if you all are enjoying yourselves. Enjoy!**

Ch 4: Hot One

It was a scorcher but that was to be expected in the Windy City at the end of summer. Amelia hovered in front of the terminal at O'Hare airport waiting for the flight from New York to come in so she could hook up with her Russian guest.

She felt almost excited although she wasn't sure why. She'd been around Ivan enough over the years following the fall of the Soviet Union to the point where a little visit from him shouldn't have made her feel any different; although this was really the first time ever in the history of her knowing him that they were getting together intentionally.

Well whatever she it was probably because she really loved Chicago and she was so excited to do all of the cool stuff and eat the amazing food. Yup, this was by far her favorite city in the world, though she kept that to herself.

Her face was bright and open, natural. She rarely wore make up and today was no exception, aside from the coca-cola lip gloss she wore. Her golden hair was held back by two red clips and her wardrobe was relaxed. Because it was hotter than blazes she'd opted to leave her bomber jacket at home. Instead she wore bright blue tank top with stars printed on it and a pair of white shorts and neon green high tops.

Passengers emerged from the gate and she bounced slightly as she impatiently waited. And there he was. He was so tall she easily spotted him. No way was Ivan Braginsky gonna get lost in a crowd.

She waved and headed over to him and he smiled politely, with his usual heavy jacket hanging over his arm. He was still wearing a blue long sleeved shirt and his scarf to which Amelia scoffed.

"Commie you could cook an egg on the pavement out there. Take that thing off," she smirked.

"Hello to you too little one. Is this the way you normally greet your guests by demanding that they strip?" he teased her.

"Only the hot ones," she winked daring to play his game.

His purple eyes widened as he looked down at her and she saw an unmistakable blush rise on his cheeks. Crap, that was kind of cute.

"Hold please," he remarked dumping the coat unceremoniously in her arms. He unwound the big scarf and laid it on top of the coat while Amelia tapped her foot. And then he pulled the shirt over his head and stood before her in dark faded jeans and a black undershirt.

She drank in the sight of him and found herself liking the look of him a lot. He wasn't exactly lean, there was plenty of meat on his bones, but he was just so tall and the shirt clung and outlined the sturdy build and he filled out those jeans so good she wanted to see how they looked on him from the back.

"Wow Eastern Europe finally imported denim! Here's your stuff," she blurted shoving the coat back at him.

"You're right this is much better," he said obliviously. He wound the scarf back around his neck and took note of the way Amelia fanned her red face.

"Really freaking hot today," she muttered in annoyance. "Anyway come on we've got some cool stuff to do."

She led the way out of the busy airport with Ivan trailing behind. He stared openly at the crowds of people of all different shapes and colors. America certainly was a melting pot.

She looked cute. Yes that was a good way to describe her. She would never be beautiful like Belgium or Elizaveta. Her face had character but it was mostly just very young and sweet looking; until she opened her mouth.

He'd forgotten that she liked to wear shorts. He did not often see women on his side of the world wearing such clothing merely because the weather was rarely suitable. He never saw her wearing them because she was always showing up at world conferences dressed impeccably in suits. She looked very good in those, but to see so much honey kissed skin was strange. He felt he could not look away from her dimpled legs and wondered if the heat truly was getting to him or if he was merely transfixed by so much skin on display.

(Section Break)

_WWII_

_America sniffed her underarm and made a face. She was definitely a little more ripe than usual. Was it any wonder after they'd been hanging out on this damn island for so long?_

_She removed her bomber jacket and left it beneath the Allies makeshift shelter while Arthur and Francis continued to argue like old maids. Yao had taken off to hang out in Chinatown and she didn't know where the hell the Ruskie was at. The Axis powers were still dicking around on the other end of the island, whatev. She didn't care and took off into the jungle to find the fresh water river she'd discovered just the other day. She marched through the brush in her undershirt, and shorts with her heavy duty boots tackling the mud and rock underfoot._

_She sighed when at last she was out of earshot from France and England. She was really getting tired of them fighting so much. She wondered why Iggy let himself get wound up. _

"_Dumbass," she said rolling her eyes._

_Of course it didn't help matters much that she was so sexually frustrated. She'd crawled into Iggy's tent the night before, her heart pounding despite her seductive act. They'd fumbled about and eventually Amelia had been forced to take the lead when her former guardian had been at a loss as to how to go about making her feel good. _

_In the end it had only made her frustrated and she'd returned to her tent as Arthur had tried to apologize to her. _

_She felt her face flushing at the humiliation of it all. That stupid Limey just didn't get it. She had liked him as soon as she'd seen him when she was a little girl. That was why she had chosen him over France and she had hoped one day he would see her as a grown up and an equal. She didn't mind having to make the first move, but now she wished she hadn't. Being with him had been awkward and almost made her wish that last night had never happened._

_She pushed aside some brush and stepped out in front of the river. That's where she discovered her Russian ally shaving._

_She froze wondering if she could possibly back away without him realizing it. It wasn't that he scared her or anything, but she really just wanted some freaking quiet and she just knew the Commie was gonna give her shit. She gritted her teeth and valiantly stepped forward. Heroines didn't back down and neither would she._

"_Sup dude!" she yelled in greeting suddenly making the unaware Russian jump slightly._

"_Lenin's ghost!" Ivan shouted making Amelia snort with laughter._

"_Whoa at ease," she chuckled as she approached the water's edge a few paces away from her ally._

_He glared at her and then returned to the task of shaving with his straight razor. She'd caught him in the middle of the task, the left side of his face was covered in lather while the right was smooth and stubble free._

_She eyed him curiously. He was only wearing the pants of his uniform and his boots leaving his top half exposed to her curious gaze._

_The fact that it was so damn hot on this island didn't make it any easier to be standing next her reluctant ally while she was wearing very little. Fuck, she should have put on a bra._

_She toed off her shoes and pulled off her socks before dipping her feet in the water. It was nice and cold and she sighed before kneeling to splash some water on her face. She scrubbed her skin while the Russian beside her admired the view. _

_It had been many years since he had had the pleasure (or irritation) of America's company. This WWII situation had necessitated their working together and sometimes he wondered if it was worth it._

_He gazed at the American woman. Fashions had changed since the last time they had come face to face. These days Amelia favored shorts it seemed and blouses along with her bomber jacket. But the jacket was gone and the only thing between Amelia and the humid jungle air was a flimsy pair of shorts, a white undershirt and dog tags that jangled against her chest. He looked to his heart's content at her toned legs and for the first time wondered if how they would feel wrapped around him. Her forearms were simply gorgeous, the bulge of lean muscle was apparent despite her small stature. He found her tight, compact strength quite attractive._

_He leered at the outlines of her nipples beneath the shirt and met her gaze lasciviously when she looked up at him. She gave him a bland look before pointedly appraising him. He wondered if she liked what she saw. He was not a handsome man nor was his body particularly beautiful. Still her blue eyes raked over his form and for the first time in many years he found himself being admired._

_He didn't look like Germany or even France, she thought. No there was some pudge there, but that didn't fool her. She knew there was an abundance of muscle beneath that insulating layer and against her better judgment she wanted to touch him to feel where the lean sinews ended and began._

_There was a lot of scarring, especially on his back. While few countries were left unscathed it seemed that Ivan's body had taken more than its fair share of abuse in the past._

_He was nothing like Iggy. Her English lover was all hard planes and sharp angles. Ivan was large, every part of him. If she let him touch her she had a feeling that he would cover her so completely. Even last night Arthur hadn't looked at her with a fraction of the heat she saw reflected back from Ivan's heavy lidded eyes._

_Ivan gestured to the foam on his face._

"_Would you like some?"_

"_No thanks," she grinned. "I like a little stubble on my legs. Keeps my socks up."_

_He laughed and it was a surprisingly warm sound to come from the embodiment of such a cold country._

_He bent over and picked up a cake of soap._

"_I mean for you to bathe with," he said with a smirk._

_She eyed it for a minute and then took the slippery soap from his grasp, making sure not to touch him. This jungle heat was getting to her, she was frustrated and she didn't know what would be ignited if there was skin to skin contact._

"_Thanks," she muttered._

"_You are welcome little one," Ivan remarked with a smile that made her want to punch him in the jaw. Maybe some other time._

_They continued to clean up in silence, both continuing to gaze openly at the body of the other. Maybe if things were different, if they hadn't been forced into this alliance and if their ideologies weren't at opposite ends of the spectrum something might have happened. _

(Section Break)

Ivan stared in awe at the sports arena and took in the long green field, the stands, the billboards and the open sky overhead. He would not have admitted it years ago, but there really were some wonderful sights to see in America.

"I like it. What did you say name was?" Ivan said looking down at Amelia as she handed him a bat.

"Wrigley field," she said with a grin. "It's one of my favorite places to play catch."

She handed him a bat, much like the one he would see her wielding against their Axis enemies not so long ago.

"Okay I'm gonna wind up and send a fastball your way and then you're gonna hit it with the bat. I kinda figured you'll be good at that," she said bouncing on her feet and getting truly excited.

She hadn't played a good game of ball in years. Whenever she tried to get Matthew to play he ended up getting pulverized because she was simply too strong to reign in her strength and frankly Arthur bruised like a peach so she didn't even bother asking him.

But Ivan, now he was someone who could match her strength. He might be able to keep a fairly decent game of catch going, but first she wanted to pitch and see if he knock a few balls out of the park.

"This is your national sport isn't it?" Ivan asked her as she walked to the pitcher's mound.

"That's right, the all American pastime!" she shouted to the empty stadium. "As American as apple pie, bald eagles, and hot dogs."

"Hot dogs were invented in Germany."

"And I invented your mother."

"That makes no sense."

"Just shut up and watch for my pitch," Amelia said sticking her tongue out and tossing the ball into her glove a few times.

She stared down at him but he was holding the bat all wrong. She tossed the glove on the ground and jogged over to home plate.

"Dude your holding it wrong," she said looking up at him.

"Well it's not like I have ever played baseball before. You think we stand around in the cold and think it would be fun to toss a ball around in the snow drifts," he said rolling his eyes.

"Fine, gimme," she said holding out her hand for the bat. "Now watch."

She pulled the bat in close to her body, with both of her hands clutching the end and held it over her shoulder. Then she swung it fast and hard, demonstrating the proper way to hit a homer for him a few times before she looked at him over her shoulder.

"Got it?"

"Da," he nodded as she handed him the bat.

"Cool man," she said running back the pitcher's mound. She watched him assume the stance and grinned.

"Looking good Braginsky!" she called out making him laugh nervously. "Relax, this is about having fun and screwing around dude."

She shot him a reassuring smile and he tightened his hold on the bat just as she sent a fastball straight at him.


	5. Chapter 5 What I Started Fighting For

Ch 5 What I Started Fighting For

"Dude that was the greatest freaking thing I've ever seen!" Amelia gushed with excitement as Ivan laughed beside her. "I think you hit that ball into the stratosphere!"

His initial hit had knocked the shit out of the ball and split the bat in half which had caused America to whoop and spaz with delight.

But since the bat was a goner they'd quickly switched to playing catch. She wound up and threw a hard ball his way. He caught the ball in the oiled glove she had provided for him easily. He could feel the force of her throws, but unlike some of the weaker nations he was able to catch the pitches. In fact he was able to throw just as hard and fast as her after a few minutes of getting used to it.

He was actually having a very nice time. It might have been because Amelia's enthusiasm was infectious. It was clear that she loved baseball and she approved that he was able to play so well. It felt good to be complimented if for no other reason than his ability to play this game; he was rarely ever admired for anything.

He threw a fast one at her and she easily caught it with relish.

"Awesome," she grinned widely. "So do you play any sports back home?"

"I like ice skating," Ivan replied raising his glove to catch another pitch. "Team sports are not exactly my thing."

"Right," Amelia said reaching up to grab his return throw. "I need food."

"You were not planning on taking me to McDonald's were you?" he said in distaste.

"No hater," she said rolling her eyes. "We're getting Taco Bell."

He groaned and Amelia threw her head back and laughed.

"I'm joking," she said with a sparkle in her eye and the tip of her tongue poking out. "We are getting Chicago style hot dogs; the best kind of food on the planet. No you cannot get out of it, yes we are getting fries any questions?"

"Nope," Ivan replied as he was led into a taxi.

They drove through the city until they came to a pier by the lake and emptied out of the cab. Amelia made him sit on a picnic table while she strolled off to get food and he took a moment to enjoy the breeze and the water. It was still hot, but better near the lake and besides he enjoyed the warmth. He'd experienced enough cold for most of his life.

"Here we go," Amelia said sprinting back to the table with a tray filled with food. She was practically foaming at the mouth and could barely wait to sit down before she took the first bite out of one perfect plump hot dog.

"Oh yeah that is so good!" she cried loudly enough to draw some attention as Ivan stared at her like a crazy person.

"Is okay, I don't know her!" Ivan called to a group of people passing by.

"That's right I totally don't know this guy!" she shouted right back making the tourists edge away nervously as Ivan laughed.

He looked at the tray carefully. There were nachos smothered in cheese and peppers, curly fries, and the hot dogs of course; these were loaded with condiments and quite a few vegetables.

"How surprising, you do actually eat vegetables," Ivan said in mock relief.

"Bite me," she muttered. "Better yet bite that, it's good."

"It must be if you bought four," he stated picking one up.

"Well I am a lady after all. I figured it was only polite to buy one for you," she remarked.

"Capitalist pig…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Ivan said brightly, feigning ignorance.

He took a bite and chewed, while Amelia watched him and sipped her coke.

"Not bad," he replied honestly.

"I guess that's the best I can hope for," she shrugged.

And because they were enjoying a perfectly comfortable silence she just had to stir shit up.

"So how goes the mystery plane search?"

He chewed the food in his mouth and stared out at the water.

"I'm afraid it has yielded no information," he stated.

"Who do you think might have done it?" she said around a mouthful of hot dog.

"I do not know otherwise I would not be so frustrated!" he snapped.

"It is not either of my sisters I know. Katyusha is too poor to do something so elaborate and Natalia does not do romantic things like sending me flowers," he bit out. "The Baltic states are terrified of me and would never do such a thing."

"Well what about Yao?"

"Nyet, I spoke with him and he asked me if I was drunk," Ivan said bitterly. "That doesn't exactly narrow the search."

Amelia shoved the remainder of her hot dog into her mouth and swallowed it. It tasted like sandpaper. Crap why did this guy make her feel so guilty for just being her heroic self? This whole thing had been her idea and yet it wasn't exactly working out the way it had in her head. It made her feel the need to take responsibility for herself and that was an uncomfortable sensation.

"Why is it important to figure this out?" she said finally.

Ivan shook his head and continued to stare out at the water.

"You would not understand.

"Don't give me that crap Commie," she said in exasperation.

"It means that you are surrounded by people. Your social calendar is always full," he stated. "My calendar is wide open Amelia."

"Ah."

"Perhaps I am greedy and want someone to spend time with," he shrugged. "I have always been selfish why should this be any different? I want a friend, someone to get out and do things with."

"Hey we're doing things," Amelia pointed out making him stare at her pointedly.

"Da why is that?" he inquired. "Because Katya and Matvey are going out? Is that the only reason you felt obligated to take your enemy out to make up for spilling your food?"

"Will you freaking chill," she told him. "The Cold War is over and you know what? I'm okay with that. It was exhausting."

She stared at him challengingly and he regarded her skeptically.

"Look whatever the reason for this little international play date, I had a fun time," she admitted reluctantly. "How about you big guy? I dare you to tell me you're having a sucky time."

He furrowed his brow and truth be told it was really annoying having him watch her so intensely cause it was making her itch to do weird things to prove her sincerity.

"I am having a good time," he relented before taking another bite of food.

"Whoa stop the presses! No international incidents were sparked because we hung out," Amelia joked even though the mood was still heavy.

She started in on the nachos, crunching away while she felt Ivan's eyes on her.

"You got something to say Commie?"

"No little one," he stated in a lighter tone.

"I think the problem with you dude, is that you keep trying to make friends with all these countries who pretty much piss themselves when they see you. Take Matt and Kat for instance," Amelia explained. "They're good together; evenly matched and on the same level. Trying to chat up the Italian brothers? Dude their scared of France. France! You never had a chance man."

"You know this is not making me feel optimistic."

She looked at him with the better part of his lip covered in mustard and snorted.

"You've got some mustard on your mouth bro," she said.

He licked the corner of his mouth and she shook her head while he completely missed the huge yellow stain until she lifted a napkin to dab at his mouth at the same moment that his tongue darted out and accidentally licked her thumb.

"Nngh," she groaned as she experienced her first full body flush.

Ivan's eyes dilated at the sound his appendage had caused as he stared back at her. She closed her eyes and took one long shuddering breath before she reached for another nacho.

Ivan took the discarded napkin from the table and lifted it to clean his mouth. That had been unnerving.

Certainly he had thought Amelia was attractive in the past, but that had always been at a time when they were adversaries, pitted against one another with no chance of coming together. In those days he had indulged in fantasies to ease the tension created by their antagonistic relationship; Amelia being bent over his desk and crying her unconditional surrender without inhibition fantasies

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye before returning his attention to his food. They were in uncharted territory now and perhaps he would need to think seriously about it for some time before deciding how best to proceed.

After they finished their food and went on to explore the rest of the city they promptly decided to ignore what had occurred at Navy Pier

"I cannot believe how small calf was compared to its mother," Ivan said as he continued to speak excitedly of their last stop at the aquarium. She had practically needed to drag him away from the beluga whale tank where he had become transfixed by the female who had given birth months ago to a cute baby.

Amelia smirked. Dude was a softie, maybe Yao's love of cute animals had rubbed off or something.

"What?" Ivan inquired when she wouldn't stop staring at him and trying to suppress a smile.

"Oh I was just congratulating myself on being such a phenomenal hostess bringing you here. You haven't been able to stop talking all day," Amelia said thoughtfully. "I guess this is the most we've ever talked with one another huh?"

"No doubt," Ivan agreed as they wound their way through the terminal of O'Hare again.

"So uh, I guess I'll be coming to your country sometime in a few months," Amelia said conversationally.

"Is that so?" Ivan said neutrally.

"Yeah it's so gonna suck balls," she groaned making Ivan's smile freeze and his eyes turn dark.

"I'm sorry it does not suit your capitalist sensibilities," he remarked icily.

"Whoa!" Amelia said looking at him challengingly. "I was talking about the fact that I'm gonna have to stay at an embassy for a week and a half."

"You not like embassy?"

"Dude I don't like staying in embassies period. It's so freaking formal it makes my skin crawl," she complained.

"Hmm."

"Whatcha gonna do when you get home?"

"Sleep and cook something to lower blood cholesterol," Ivan smirked. "And try to go about this sunflower business in another way."

"Persistent," she said in reluctant admiration. She wasn't too worried about being found out, she'd done the super secret spy bit for years and had covered her tracks. Just as long as a certain buxom Eastern European kept her secret she would be fine.

"But uh, I had a nice time. Not that I'm gonna start inviting the other pinko's out for drinks or anything."

"I'm sure Yao will be crushed," Ivan remarked. "So I guess I am the one and only lucky communist to be invited to your home?"

He was smirking so Amelia just shook her head and continued walking beside him

"Whatever dude," she muttered good naturedly as their steps slowed as if to linger on a little longer. Today had been good. Weird, but kinda weird good.

"Well say hi to crazy pants for me," Amelia blurted immediately making Ivan grimace. "Tell her if she keeps stalking you I'll knock her on her ass."

He shook his head but she could knew he was laughing quietly. It was a low, warm sound and she felt herself shiver pleasantly whenever she heard it.

"Ah, this is me," Ivan remarked, feeling an odd tugging in his chest as they arrived at the terminal.

"You betcha," Amelia stated unnecessarily. "Well safe ride and what not. I hope they don't make you watch a snooze fest movie on the way back."

"Yes…" Ivan said looking down at her with a small smile that reached his eyes. "Thank you for a lovely day."

She nodded and held up her fist.

"Fist pump bro," she said with a lopsided smile.

His smiled in amusement as they bumped fists and then he was walking away and waving at her.

She waved back until he disappeared from sight and stood by herself. She wondered why something as simple as bumping fists made her feel warm, and her insides melt.

"I have got to get laid."

(Section Break)

Ivan looked up when he heard a knock on his door. He set aside the book he'd been reading and opened his door to find his sister outside.

"Katya, I am glad you could make it," Ivan greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

"It's good to see you Ivan, although for some reason when I got here Raivis kept telling me to run for my life," she said stepping inside.

"Little rascal," Ivan chuckled, eyes flashing slightly.

He closed the door behind him and gestured for her to have a seat. She sat on the couch, brushing off her overalls to be sure she didn't get any dirt on her brother's furniture; she knew he would not mind but all the same.

"How are you?" Ivan said conversationally as he poured himself a tumbler of vodka. "Oh would you like some tea perhaps?"

"No thank you, I'm fine," she said somewhat apprehensively.

"Alright," he stated sitting across from her with a small smile. "Well I'll get right to it. There is something I wanted to talk to you about sister."

"O-okay."

"You remember the sunflowers dropped around my house da?"

"Yes brother," Katya said in confusion. "Have you figured out who sent them?"

"Nyet," he stated in displeasure. "But then the other day a thought occurred to me."

He smiled at her knowingly, and it was slightly unsettling to say the least.

He sipped his drink as a fire crackled and looked thoughtfully at the flames.

"I was going about it all wrong. I tried to use my intelligence, my government, and all of my resources to trace clues back to find this person," he said as his grin grew wider. "But then I realized I had to ask myself a much less complicated question."

He looked at his sister and tilted his head.

"How many people know that sunflowers are my favorite Katyusha?"

Katya's eyes widened and her mouth parted as Ivan took in her reaction and nodded in confirmation.

"That is not information that I let slip to everyone I speak to. Only a handful of people are aware of my ..fondness for sunflowers. It must have been you I am thinking who told this mysterious pilot of my preference."

She stared at him worriedly and then started to cry.

"What? What is this?" Ivan said as his entire demeanor changed and he stood up to go to his sister's side.

"I'm sorry brother but I cannot tell you who it was. I pinky swore!" Katya cried.

Ivan swore in Russian and patted his crying sibling on the shoulder, shooshing her and grimacing as she continued to cry.

(Section Break)

**Alright there are a few reasons I decided the visit was in Chicago. For one I've lived there and I felt more confident writing about it and I could picture everything clearly in my head; also I learned Amelia liked hot dogs so it seemed to fit. I was actually in Chicago in the summer of 2010 and a beluga whale at the Shedd Aquarium did actually have a calf. **

**So things are progressing and poor Ivan is once again thwarted. I know people portray his darker side and I'm not denying that he has many layers to his personality, but I just don't see him being a monster. There will be glimpses of the darkness later but for right now I'm happy with the way I've been writing him. Thank you everyone for reading, for the reviewers who leave much desired feedback, thank you one and all….please review! **


	6. Chapter 6 Feel Your Way

**Privet! I don't have too much to say, just thank you once again to my beautiful readers and reviewers. I hope you like and stick with me. Enjoy!**

Ch 6 Feel Your Way

"Dammit keep both hands on the wheel you wanker!" Arthur shouted as Francis swerved dangerously down the country lane.

"Do not worry mon amour! I only ad two glasses of vin at the station," Francis chuckled. "I am perfectly in control."

"You bleeding buffoon!"

Amelia groaned. She would have just ignored the Limey and the Frog but unfortunately her Ipod was dead so she just had to settle for texting and trying to tune them out.

"You nearly ran over a bloody farmer!"

"You exaggerate cher," Francis purred as he wrapped an arm around Arthur's neck and dragged the Englishman against his puckered mouth. Arthur spluttered as the Frenchman forcibly plundered his mouth, his limbs flailing as the car began zigzagging one the road. Arthur finally managed to extract himself and return to his seat while Francis laughed and tried to grope his lover.

"Cease and desist man!"

"I knew it. You two fight all the time so you can have make up bunny sex," Amelia commented from the backseat.

"There you see what you've done molesting me in front of Amelia you sadistic surrender monkey!" Arthur shouted.

"Don't mind me," Amelia replied. "No really don't mind me; that got me pretty turned on and you should probably avert your eyes from the rearview mirror."

"Amelia F. Jones!" Arthur gasped as Francis laughed his head off.

"Let me just adjust this," Francis smirked lasciviously as he pretended to adjust the rearview mirror.

"The two of you are utter heathens!"

They eventually arrived at the Provence farmhouse that Francis owned after a lot of bitching and unnecessary drama from Arthur.

Amelia sighed as she dumped her bag in the spare room as the two men downstairs prepared dinner. She flopped onto the bed and inhaled the scent of lavender in the pillow. She'd stayed in the house a couple of times already. It had taken awhile, she had put off their invitation for years because she just couldn't stand seeing the two of them together being so domestic and lame together. Now whenever she saw them together she just laughed her ass off.

She rolled over onto her back and pulled out her phone to send a text message to Ivan.

**I'm screwed. Frenchie's letting the Brit help with dinner ! **

She smiled slightly and leaned back against the bed as she waited for a reply. It had been a month and a half since they had last seen each other outside of world conferences. She had taken to texting him from time to time. Yep that was the extent of their relationship at the moment. Texting was safe, casual. Talking on the phone, now that would be intimate. It was totally best in her opinion to communicate indirectly through the technology in this case.

Her phone went off and she flipped it open and completely cracked up.

**Get out of there if you value your life. Run do not walk!**

She leaned back and scrolled through the pictures on her phone. She'd taken quite a few during the Chicago trip and had periodically looked them up. She came to a picture where Ivan was smiling nervously, wide eyed and perhaps not expecting his experience with an erratic cab driver. She had always thought that crazy reckless cab rides were fun but for some reason he'd gotten a little scared.

She checked out pictures of the aquarium next. There was one with Ivan peering into the shark tank. He'd bent over to peer inside and she had felt compelled to snap a pick of his tight backside because sweet Ronald McDonald it was kind of maybe one of the hottest asses she'd ever seen. It should be illegal to wear jeans with an ass like that. The next picture, well it was kind of dark, but it was a picture of Ivan's uplifted face as he gazed at a tank filled with jellyfish. His mouth was slightly parted, his eyes wide and fascinated. She was gonna have to edit the lighting because she really liked that pic.

She finally made herself close her phone. Seriously what was she doing? She wanted to hang out with him again and it had nothing to do with her heroic mission. She'd just really enjoyed their time together. They'd just gotten along so well, interacted so easily over the course of the playdate. With the exception of the sexual tension that is.

She got bored about 45 seconds later and headed downstairs, surprised that she didn't hear any yelling as she headed towards the kitchen, drawn in by the wonderful smells filling the house.

She paused in the doorway to the kitchen. Francis and Arthur were both cooking side by side. There was a radio turned on playing La Vie en Rose of all things; well wasn't that just over the top.

She nervously eyed Iggy who appeared to be preparing dessert she gathered as she noticed the jar of preserves and a box of lady fingers beside him. Ah, trifle one of the few things that Arthur couldn't screw up since most of it was store bought. Next to him Francis was just sticking a roaster pan filled with a whole chicken and veg into the oven. He nodded and poured himself more wine before turning to Arthur expectantly.

"Did you want something?" Arthur inquired, preoccupied with his preparations.

"You know what I would like," Francis stated.

Arthur snorted and dipped his thumb into the jam before smudging some on his boyfriend who cried out in mock outrage.

"You dirty boy!" Francis admonished. And then something happened that Amelia did not expect. Arthur leaned in and slowly licked the jam from the Frenchman's cheek, and Francis blushed. The atmosphere felt so tender and domestic, that it made her begin to feel like an unintentional voyeur.

She backed up as Francis leaned in and kissed the Englishman sweetly as the music played on.

Amelia paused in the next room feeling uncomfortable. It wasn't because she was jealous, she had gotten past that long ago, but… Maybe she felt a little envious of such a relationship. She had never had that kind of connection to someone else. Over the past few years she'd had a string of lovers and a bunch of friends, but never someone who was the perfect embodiment of the two; someone who complemented her and shared a deep connection with only her.

Yeah right! She was the United States of America, or America for short. She was the greatest effing nation in the world! People were jealous of her, not the other way around. She had no reason to envy a couple of homos making dinner. That was lame, she would never want anything that boring or monotonous.

She maintained that it was probably due to a lack of sex. Let's see the last time she'd had sex had been…wow like ten years ago. It had just been such a busy decade, and it seemed like all of her past booty calls were in steady relationships, and even if she was awesome she didn't want to come between anyone; unless that meant a threesome.

Firmly convinced of her denial, she strolled back into the kitchen being sure to announce her presence loudly.

"S'up bitches?" she called crassly.

Arthur muttered something while Francis merely swirled his wine, clearly used to her manners by this point.

"Ah you've come to keep us company how sweet," he cooed as he handed her a glass of wine.

She accepted the glass and took a sip. She could appreciate wine every now and again, even if she would have preferred a coke.

"Are you going to see your old friend before you return home?" Arthur asked dryly.

"Which one? I'm so popular I should have my own social network," Amelia grinned. "I think I'll call it AmericaSpace or maybe America's address book."

"I was referring to that drunken Braginsky of course dimwit, because you're going to Russia," Arthur stated rolling his eyes.

"Dunno. We don't have any formal business to discuss so I might not even run into him," Amelia said noncommittally as she stared into her drink.

"Well that's fortunate. I can't imagine you two have begun exchanging Christmas cards or anything lately so why spend time with him if it can be avoided?"

"You can be a top notch prick sometimes Arthur," Amelia shot back unexpectedly, making both of her hosts stare at her in shock.

" I was talking about your former enemy, there isn't any love lost there surely."

"He was an ally before that happened, he was your ally if I remember correctly. Right around the time you were getting bombed the hell out of by Germany," Amelia stated, in irritation. And just why the hell was she even defending him? Whatever the reason it pissed her off to hear Arthur talking shit about Ivan.

"I wish you could stay with us longer," Francis remarked changing the subject. "It's been so long since we had any bebe in our home."

"You're acting like we raised her together you freak," Arthur muttered.

"Yeah right Frenchie, you're dying for me to leave so you can take off your pants."

Francis laughed lasciviously and eyed her intently.

"Oh honhonhon! You are mistaken cher," he said seductively, before shooting a smile at England. "But Iggy told me not to so I must keep my pants on my sexy derriere."

Amelia smirked as her desire to stir shit up and piss people off kicked in.

"Don't let me stop you," she said cheerfully.

Francis started laughing again as he undid his belt while Arthur spluttered and started smacking his hands away from his zipper while Amelia leaned back and enjoyed the fruits of her labor. Mischief managed.

(Section Break)

Amelia set her empty plate on the nightstand and laid back on the comfy guest bed. She was full of rich French food, including the pear tarte she'd just demolished. Iggy and Francis had gone to bed and she was still awake, and bored.

She laid back and regarded the closed door to her room for a moment. She could probably be quiet so why the hell not? Her hand glided along the swell of her breast as she thought of that night when she had gone into Iggy's tent; but this time instead of leaving her tent in the dead of night to seduce the frigid Englishman she imagined how the encounter might have gone if she had let her guard down long enough for her to crawl into Ivan's tent.

(Section Break)

Ivan lit the cigarette between his lips and inhaled as the tip burned. He closed his eyes and exhaled, expelling both the smoke and a rather self-satisfied sound that could only come in those precious moments after release. He was sprawled out on his large bed, naked and completely sated after indulging himself with some fantasies of his old adversary. He'd even grunted her name at completion, which was definitely new.

He opened his eyes and watched the smoke billow up towards the ceiling with half-lidded eyes. For as long as he'd desired her the longing had never ceased. Over time the fantasies changed, expanded, and evolved. There were the harsher, punishing scenarios he'd used frequently during the Cold War, but there were others. There was not always pain and domination, sometimes there were flickers of tenderness and affection that came unbidden to his mind as he thought about her. From where these details sprang he knew not, nor did he care when his body was taut and his blood red hot with need.

He stubbed the cigarette out as his phone lit up. He eyed it curiously and leaned over to peer at the text message on the screen.

**Back in the USSR XD Maybe I'll C U around**

He smiled and shook his head before his expression hardened. Perhaps it was better if they did not meet. He wasn't certain if she would like what he desired from her if she knew of the feelings blossoming inside of him.

**So no actual RusAme action this chapter, but trust me there will be lots the next time around. :D **


	7. Chapter 7 Running to the Future

**So here's the thing, I got a lot of amazing reviews for the last chapter. That is why I decided to post this early as a thanks for so much response. I also need to send a shout out to the anon who left me what was probably the lengthiest review I have ever received. Thank you each and every one of you, it was most appreciated goslings. Now enjoy!**

Ch 7 Running to the Future, but Fell into the Past

Amelia blew some air out of her mouth as she walked down the sidewalk in Moscow with a shopping bag in hand.

She'd managed to occupy herself for the afternoon and had discovered an actual Hard Rock café which had been flipping sweet. Shopping had kinda diverted her, but she wasn't a shopaholic or anything so she'd gotten bored with it pretty fast.

It was her fourth day in Russia and it was sucking balls. In most other countries she usually had some haunts that she frequented or friends to annoy for awhile but over here there wasn't a whole hell of a lot to do without people to do it with.

Ivan hadn't contacted her even though she'd sent him a text that was funny as hell when she'd arrived.

**Baaaack in the USSR! :D ****Maybe I'll C U around**

"Classic," she laughed to herself.

Sure he'd responded but that had been the end of it. Jerk hadn't even jazzed it up and added any emoticons; all he'd said was that he was super busy, blah, blah, blah. That was just awesome. She couldn't stop thinking about the guy and he just brushed her off.

She whipped out her phone for about the hundredth time and saw that the only messages she'd received had been from Arthur and Michelle O.

"Screw it," she muttered dialing his number while she felt her palms begin to sweat. She never got nervous on the phone, she'd been one of the first people to install a phone after its invention; not to mention the first to try a prank call.

She listened to the dial tone impatiently and was just about to hang up when she heard the click of the phone being answered.

"Amelia?"

She startled but recovered by laughing loudly.

"Oh yeah America's in the house!" she said in greeting. "What's up Braginsky?"

"Not much," he said quietly. "I made Latvia cry and gave Lithuania an anxiety attack so it's been a normal day I guess."

"Sounds rad. Listen can I come over for dinner?" Amelia said quickly.

There was a pause and she crossed her fingers hoping he'd say yes.

"Certainly," Ivan remarked sounding not in the least bit sarcastic. "On the condition that you do not insult my ethnic food since I ate those hot dogs of yours."

"I make no guarantees man," Amelia stated. "What are we having?"

"Soup and pirozhki," Ivan stated, as he was cut off by the American on the other end.

"Dude pirozhki really? I love those!" she said excitedly.

"Do you even know what that is?"

She smiled and closed her eyes; she could hear his warm quiet laughter and crap focus Jones!

"Duh, Kat made it for me one time," Amelia scoffed. "Give me directions to your house and I'll head over."

When she finally arrived at the house outside of the city, away from the bustle of Moscow she had to admit it was a nice house. It wasn't huge, but there were lights on inside and it looked warm against the chilly night air. She stepped out of the chauffeured car with her duffle swung over her shoulder and waved back at the driver who took off, leaving her alone as she stepped up the stone walkway to the home. She snuck around the back deciding to scare the shit out of Ivan because she could and stealthily made her way around the house until she was in the back. She was giggling like a fiend as she lifted her head to look into the home. From what she could see the room she was looking into was the dining room and-

"What are you doing in the shrubs?"

The shriek that left Amelia's mouth would have been enough to get most people arrested for noise violations.

"Hush little one, it's only me," he said, clearly trying to surpress a laugh while she glared at him.

"Whatev! I just about had a heart attack!"

"Well your terrible eating habits were bound to catch up with you," he murmured with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Huh?"

"What?" he said innocently.

"Let's just go inside, I'm starving," she complained as he eyed her bag.

"You bring that for dinner?"

"Dude dinner is code for sleepover," Amelia said walking ahead of him inside.

"No it's not," he protested behind her.

"Are you saying you don't have a place for me to crash?" she asked as she set her bag down on the hardwood floor of the front room.

"I am saying you are a presumptuous pain in the ass."

"Yeah I get that a lot," she laughed turning towards Ivan who was regarding her with distress. "Dude, I didn't think it would be that big of a deal."

He sighed and she relented.

"Look I just want a night away from the embassy okay? I'll be quiet-I won't bother y-I mean I'll try to give you your space so please?"

Ivan felt his resolve fall as she stared at him with those impossibly blue eyes, pleading with him to let her stay.

"Alright, one night," he replied uncertainly. "Now sit, dinner is almost ready."

"Thank you," she said in relief. "Um I don't really like cooking…at all, but do you need help?"

"No really, it's almost ready," he assured her. "Would you like a drink?"

"Sounds good," she said plopping down on the cushy wine red couch.

He nodded and headed back into the kitchen while she took in the lay out. It was filled with old world charm, lots of textures, different colors, and old things that made it feel cozy rather than stuffy.

A coke can sailed through the air and she caught it in her outstretched hand. She snapped open the can and took a long drink. It was cold and sugary just like she liked it. Like she liked it…

She choked slightly on the soft drink as she realized that Ivan must have gone out and picked these up for her before she had arrived.

He stepped in with two plates loaded with food and set them on the coffee table in front of the couch as Amelia cleared her throat and took a seat.

"Aww man that smells good," she said loudly as she tried to forget about the coke and focus on the rest of the evening.

"It's a wonder you survived, growing up on British food," Ivan remarked as he dug into the food.

"It was either that or Francis. I could have turned into a total puss being raised by that fruit," she retorted around a mouthful of food.

"Somehow I doubt that," Ivan remarked. "You are made from stronger stock, like me."

He focused on his plate although he felt her eyes on him. This was why he had not wanted her to spend the night. He became strange around her. He did things he would never normally do like buying those disgusting soft drinks and trying to ignore her warm body beside him. Although with her around he was not lonely and perhaps that made it worth the troubling feelings.

Her knee nudged his and he realized she was trying to get his attention.

"Earth to Ivan," she said with a soft smile. "Dude I said your food rocks."

"Thank you," he replied.

The passed the rest of the evening in relative comfort. Ivan worked a bit while Amelia fooled around on her lap top or phone. They would talk occasionally through the night.

Once she even forced Ivan to watch a funny video she had found. He didn't exactly have the same humor as her so most of it was lost on him, but she was including him, sharing something with him that she thought he might like.

(Section Break)

"_Hell yes WWII is over gentlemen," Amelia said excitedly waving her milkshake around in her hand. "Now it's time to kick back and relax!"_

"_Easy for you to say," Francis remarked. "None of the fighting took place on your territory so you do not have any clean up to do."_

"_You wanna run that by me again?" Amelia said in such a serious deadly tone that it took all of the other Allies by surprise. "You call Pearl Harbor not on my territory?"_

_She stared stonily at the French man before her face lit up in her typical sunny smile while Yao rolled his eyes._

"_I for one am just happy to be saying goodbye to you Westerners. You're asses," he stated._

"_Same goes for you heathen panda chaser," Arthur muttered._

"_Don't get too mad bro what if he cuts off your tea supplies and you get so caffine deprived that you decide to overthrow the monarchy?" Amelia snickered._

"_I hate you all," Ivan piped in quietly with his small unsettling smile._

"_Suck it America," Arthur shouted turning red in the face while Amelia smirked and sucked down her shake._

"_I thought she already had!" Ivan responded in a deceptively friendly voice._

_Arthur turned to Russia in horror and Amelia snorted into her shake so hard that the top exploded off. Yes none of the Allies had forgotten that time on the island when Amelia had crawled into Arthur's tent one night for some 'we're about to go to war sex'; but none of them had actually mentioned it out loud._

"_Now see here Russia! You may be big and come from the seventh circle of hell but that doesn't give you the right-"_

"_It's okay Iggy, he's probably just butthurt that Yao kicked him out of his tent," Amelia said, with a light tone that didn't match the hate in her piercing blue eyes._

_Ivan's face fell at that and Yao's mouth fell open. Amelia stared at Ivan defiantly. She had no doubt, now that the Axis powers were defeated that this would be her new villain to fight and the sooner everyone got that straight the better._

"_How the hell did you know about that?" Yao whispered in horror._

"_Oh that was just a guess. Dude, if not even a fellow Commie will give big bad Ivan some lovin that must mean nobody will!" Amelia laughed right before Ivan shoved his pipe against her throat and pinned her to the wall. Her body flailed as she fought for air while the other three Allies started shouting and attempting to pry Ivan off._

_Ivan's vision had gone completely red. He couldn't hear anything except the blood rushing through his head. The only thing he saw was the woman in front of him struggling to draw breath as she flailed. With one last effort to free herself, Amelia's leg swung up and hit his groin so hard that he toppled over while she coughed roughly._

_She stared at Ivan with tears in her eyes as he moaned in pain._

"_Don't…ever…touch..me," she bit out before stepping over his prone form and taking off despite Arthur calling after her._

_Russia was a formidable opponent. He always seemed to know the right way to hurt her. The others could annoy her to no end, but he was the only one who seemed capable of touching on sensitive issues that burned her. And it seemed she was just as capable if not more so of retaliation if his violent reaction was any indication._

Amelia jolted up in bed panting and sweating. She scrubbed her hand over her face and shook slightly from the dream. She had no idea why she had dreamed about that. She had lots of reoccurring nightmares but they were about major past events like assassinations, Pearl Harbor, Vietnam, or 911.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, feeling the need to get up and walk around. There was no way she was gonna be sleeping for a little while until she calmed down.

She opened the door quietly and stepped into the darkened house in her purple striped bottoms and white tank top.

She jumped when she noticed Ivan sitting on the couch, his body twisting so that he could peer over the back of the couch as he looked up at the night sky through the window. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively. Normally she wasn't afraid or one to retreat, but this whole situation between them was turning weird and that dream was just a reminder of how much history they shared. Most of it bad and maybe it was just too hard to get past that.

"Did you have a nightmare as well little one?" Ivan said quietly.

She shouldn't have been surprised that he knew she was there, but she was.

"Yeah something like that," she stated. "I guess a lot of us get those huh?"

"Da," he sighed turning himself so that he faced her.

His hair was mussed and he was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and his ever present scarf. He looked different from that Russian adversary she'd faced in her dream, but he was still the same person.

He turned on a small red glass lamp and blinked against the light while she continued to stand uncertainly.

"We could watch movie if you do not want to sleep," he said. "I finally got a dvd player."

"Thanks but I just got up to pee," she told him. "So I'm just gonna go do that."

He watched her go feeling slightly disappointed. He almost wished she would have stayed up and just talked with him.

"What are we doing," he wondered out loud to himself.

(Section Break)

The next morning Ivan was surprised to find that Amelia had gotten up before him. True he enjoyed sleeping in but he figured that she would outlast him.

He prepared tea for the two of them in his traditional samovar and watched Amelia sitting outside against a tree in his yard from the kitchen window. He left the teas on the counter and grabbed his coat before stepping outside.

He approached her slowly like one attempting to get close to yak; he had childhood experience with this and didn't want to make the mistake of encroaching on a strong startled creature.

He crouched in front of her as she paused in fiddling with her phone.

"You are avoiding me," he said simply.

"I so am not," she said refusing to meet his eyes.

"So being in my country merely puts you off and makes you act this way," he replied willing her to look at him. "Where is your courage little one? I have seen you rush into a glorious battle with no fear in your eye and yet now you will not answer my question."

She looked up at him defiantly and he smiled at her.

"What the hell are we doing Ivan?" she asked him, chin jutting out and brows furrowed.

"Currently sitting on ground freezing our tuckuses off," he stated.

"I mean us hanging out," she said. "Does it bother you?"

"Somewhat," he stated.

"Me too," she said. "I mean being casual friends is just yankee doodle dandy but this…"

She broke off and started fiddling with her phone again.

"This feels different then just palling around," she stated daring him to disagree.

"Perhaps it is," he acknowledged. "What did you dreamt last night Mia?"

She let the name slip and pushed ahead.

"I dreamt about pissing you off and you trying to choke the life out of me," she said honestly.

"Ah," he replied thoughtfully.

He did not immediately disagree or try to reassure her. He was silent for a moment thinking and she looked to him expectantly.

"I will not say I am changed man. I am who I am, a country built on blood and hardship. I am capable of many terrible things if I wish to do so."

He had the surprise to see her smile before it faded.

"You tell it like it is, I'll give you that," she replied.

"I do not desire to hurt you," he stated. "For as often as you irritate me to no end and get under my skin I don't wish for anything unfortunate to happen to you."

"We hated each other," she began. "It's the fight that kept me going through the better part of the last century."

"It was the same for me," he replied taking her hand in his to keep her from playing with her phone. "But you are asking yourself if we can overcome this and trust in one another da?"

She nodded and he made her pulse pound when he held her face in his hands.

"I do not know," he said quietly. "But I feel compelled to try."

She closed her eyes as his face moved close to hers knowing what was to come and that it was going to force them to move forward.

His mouth settled on hers as he made a noise of approval and her hands shot up to cling to his forearms. It was the softest, lightest of touches. Like a snowflake landing on her skin. His lips were slightly chapped against hers, his top lip surprisingly full. Every slide of his lips on hers sent shivers through her body and sighs of pleasure pulled from his lips.

He felt himself drowning in America, he could taste coca cola on his tongue and found he loved when it was from her lips. He kept the kisses light and chaste knowing they could not give in fully. There was much to talk about, feelings to sort through and trust to be built up before all of that.

Amelia had never really been one for kissing, but this… She knew it would be like this if they ever came together. The pressure of his mouth was light, but each touch was laden with pleasure and sent heat curling low in her belly. If they could create sparks like this with some soft kisses, what would happen if they were less cautious with their physical contact?

She flicked her tongue against his parted mouth. He groaned and sucked the appendage, making her moan before pulling away. He watched her eyes dilated and vivid and realized his own expression was probably just as hungry if not more so.

He planted one last soft kiss on her mouth to stamp out the burn they both felt before standing up.

"Let's eat some breakfast and then you should return to the embassy," he said willing her to understand that they needed time apart though he wanted nothing but to keep her here forever. A thought that frightened him enough to know it was best to go slow though it would be difficult for him.

She nodded and took his hand when he extended it.

**Alright, so yeah that happened. When she talked about getting a text from Michelle O., I of course meant the beautiful Michelle Obama. I can totally see those two hanging out and it makes me want to write a one-shot. I really wanted to put the flash back in because I wanted to show that even though Amelia and Ivan are can be good and comfortable together they are multi-faceted and have some darkness in them as well. Just my thoughts**


	8. Chapter 8 If I Needed Someone

Ch 8 If I Needed Someone

Amelia slurped some garlic noodles down from her carton of take out. She sat at the kitchen table with her lap top in front of her so that she could get a little work done while she ate. Tony was actually sitting across from her telling her about a new video game he'd found.

"Dude sounds rad," Amelia said around her chopsticks and food. "Mmm, totally buying that asap."

"You can't. It doesn't come out until next month," Tony informed her.

"You are the Pirate King," she said high fiving him. "I totally shouldn't be encouraging that, but whatev."

She lifted more noodles up to her mouth and paused when her phone started vibrating on the table. She felt her pulse pick up when she saw that the id said Commie. She'd been thinking about him a lot since she'd left Russia. Her mind kept replaying that kiss in her head and remembering what his mouth felt like over hers. It made her really want to drag her ass back across the world so she could grab the Commie for some real hot and heavy lip locking.

She set her chopsticks aside and flipped open the phone.

"Hey," she said brightly.

"Privyet," the familiar accented voice greeted her. "Are you busy?"

"Oh no I'm just hanging out at home," Amelia replied as she got up from her seat and grabbed the carton of food.

"Ah," Ivan remarked.

He sounded kind of nervous and she laughed a little to herself. That was kind of cute.

"I had a nice time at your place. Maybe we can do a sleepover again sometime?"

"Da," he said sounding relieved. "That would be nice."

"So uh, what have you been doing lately?" she asked, holding her phone between her ear and her shoulder as she used her hands to lift noodles with her chopsticks.

"A bit of work, some reading. I am heading to England tomorrow," he remarked.

"Oh yeah? You have some business with the Brits?" she inquired, before lifting another portion of noodles to her mouth.

Normally she would have talked with her mouth full, but after years of hearing England bitch at her to swallow before she spoke, she had finally taken his advice.

"I am actually going to see an old friend. I missed her birthday this year and I'm taking the trip to make up for that," he stated.

"A friend huh?" Amelia said in surprise. "I didn't think you had any friends."

Her mouth fell open the second the words left her mouth and her blues eyes widened. Holy crap she needed a filter for her verbal diarrhea.

"She passed away years ago," Ivan sighed. "What's the sound?"

"Oh nothing," Amelia muttered as she banged her head against the wall for a few seconds. "I'm sorry about your friend. Who was she?"

The other line was quiet and for a minute she wondered if she'd really overstepped her bounds. At this point she kinda wouldn't have blamed him if he'd shouted at her for being a total douche.

"Her name was Tamara," he said finally in a quiet voice. "She was a ballerina. A talented and lovely dancer. Someone whom I was forced to part ways with around the start of the Revolution."

His voice wavered at the end and she listened to him pause and take a breath.

"I apologize. I do not talk with many people about this," he stated.

"Hey it's okay," she said reassuringly. "I totally know how you feel. I mean there's a ton of people I miss."

It made sense, they were countries but there were people who became important to them. They were shaped and touched by bonding with humans but at the cost of losing them while the countries were forced to live on.

"I uh, had this friend named Amelia too," she said with a little laugh. "She was so much fun, a real firecracker when most of the other American gals were being wives and mothers. She made me feel like maybe I wasn't the only woman ahead of my time you know?"

She stopped when she realized it was making her feel a little emotional. Because she never really talked about the friends she had lost with anyone. It was painful and she just didn't like to bring it up too often.

"I know," he stated in a surprisingly thick voice. It hurt a little but in a strange way it felt good to speak of this with someone. He'd had few people he could confide in about such matters.

"What was she like?" Amelia asked after she'd had a chance to collect herself.

"She burned so brightly," Ivan said with a small laugh. "She was one of the few people who made me think that perhaps I could make friends. Not alliances or political ties, but relationships with people who perhaps cared for me a little bit."

Amelia swallowed tightly feeling her throat tighten up slightly.

"You've got a friend right here Ivan," she finally admitted.

"Mia," he murmured. "Is… good to hear that."

Before they could delve anymore into the finer points of their continually evolving relationship she spoke up to change the subject.

"So a ballerina huh? Do you like ballet?"

"Da," Ivan said hesitantly. "But I am thinking that ballet does not hold much interest with you."

"Actually I happen to like The Nutcracker which was composed by a Russian dude if I'm not mistaken," Amelia said smugly.

"Really now?" Ivan remarked. "Well that's a start at least."

"I'm just full of surprises da?" Amelia said smirking over the phone.

For some reason that made Ivan giggle.

"You're a weird girl," he remarked making her scoff as she slurped down more noodles while the intimate moment passed.

"You're pretty weird yourself bub."

"You're right about that."

"Hey I was thinking of maybe getting some countries together to play paintball sometime. But only like the really badass ones like Germany, Hungary. Would you be interested in partaking?" she inquired.

They talked a nearly an hour about this and that. He laughed when she told him she was eating Chinese and informed her that he doubted she had ever eaten authentic Chinese before. It turned out that Chinese was one of Ivan's favorite ethnic foods and Amelia found herself getting more jealous than hungry as she listened to him talk about food.

Frick she needed to snap out of it. She loved eating pizza and that didn't mean she wanted to hook up with the Italian brothers. But then Ivan had actually had romantic inclinations towards Yao at one point.

"Next time I will make Chinese to eat," Ivan told her.

"Right next time," Amelia said. "There's gonna be a next time."

"I was hoping there would be," he stated.

Amelia bit her lip and looked back into the living room where the erase board was pulled out. This time there were two columns that she had started. _The Pros and Cons of dating Ivan Braginsky_. She hadn't even started on the columns, intending to do that after dinner. But now she wasn't sure if the list would be necessary.

"Amelia are you still there?"

She blinked and walked towards the erase board.

"Yeah I'm right here," she said grabbing the eraser in her free hand.

"I must finish getting ready for my trip but we will talk later?"

"Yeah definitely," Amelia said. "Oh actually there's a meeting coming up soon so I guess I'll just see you then."

"Right," Ivan said quietly.

"Ivan," Amelia muttered uncomfortably. "I can't wait to see you."

The line was silent and she wanted to kick her own ass for saying something so stupid. Crap she was not good with touchy feelies.

"I too look forward to seeing you as well Mia," he replied at last.

(Section Break)

Ivan laid a bouquet of yellow roses over the grave and stepped back as he gazed silently at the resting place of his Tamara. He smiled at the tiny pair of white dancing shoes that someone had left as an offering. It was nice to know that he was not the only person to honor the memory of a talented deceased dancer.

He lingered only for a minute in the graveyard as a light English rain began to drizzle down. He pulled his coat closer and finally began to make his way out of the cemetery. At the front gates he spotted a figure waiting beneath a black umbrella.

"Long time no see Mr. Kirkland," Ivan remarked casually.

"Hello Braginsky," the Englishman stated. "I was wondering if I might have a word with you?"

They returned to Arthur's London flat where Ivan stood in the small study and examined his surroundings as his host prepared a traditional English tea for them.

His eyes scanned everything from the books on the shelves to the items on Arthur's desk. He leaned forward to examine a photograph of Amelia standing beside a woman, their arms thrown around one another companionably.

He lifted up the photo and admired Amelia. She looked no different, still sunny and cute even in those days.

He smiled as Arthur strolled in with a tea tray in his hands.

"Must you paw everything?" Arthur said rudely.  
>"The only thing I have 'pawed' as you say is Amelia," Ivan said with not just a hint of possessiveness in his voice as he deliberately set the picture back in its rightful place.<p>

Arthur turned red in the face and viciously dropped two lumps of sugar into his tea as Ivan took a seat beside him with a smug smile on his face.

"No scones so you'll have to make do with packaged biscuits," Arthur said with a smirk as if depriving his guest of the foul blackened rock cakes was his way of being a total rebel.

"Your scones taste like ash," Ivan replied as he accepted a cup of tea and added cream.

"I did not invite you back to my flat so that you could attack my cooking skills!"Arthur bit out.

"Well now that we have that out of the way why did you bring me here?" Ivan inquired pointedly. "Perhaps because you have heard that Amelia and I have been…"

He drew the last part out with a smirk curving his lips and his purple eyes flashing with glee at the Englishman.

"Becoming closer?"

Arthur glared at him while Ivan pretended to calmly sip his tea.

"Of course that's why! I read about your interactions on her blog, saw the pictures, and I want to know why the hell you're spending this much time with her!"

"My you sound quite worried," Ivan said in taunting voice. "I wonder does this protectiveness stem from your paternal instincts or perhaps less pure motives?"

"Bloody hell that was ages ago! No matter how you try to twist this, the point is that I want you to back off and stop seeing her," Arthur said point blank.

"Amelia is a grown woman," Ivan stated setting his teacup aside. "She's not your colony and as such is no longer your concern."

"That's where you're wrong," Arthur said crossing his arms defensively. "I may not have any direct control over her affairs these days but I still worry and I don't think you're a good influence on her."

Arthur stood up and walked to his desk where he picked up the picture of Amelia.

"She may be very strong but she is incredibly young compared to all of us. She hasn't seen what we have and perhaps that's as much of a blessing as it is a curse. Her heart and spirit haven't been repeatedly broken and built up just to survive and live to be a nation from century to century."

He glanced at Ivan over his shoulder.

"I don't know what you intend for her, but Amelia has a lot more at stake in this than you do," he stated as the door opened. "You've seen horrors and carry that darkness inside of you. What happens when that touches Amelia and taints her?"

"Oh Arthur! Mon amour are you at ome?" Francis called from the front of the house.

"I'm in the study," Arthur called back as he regarded the Russian before him.

"Well I've said everything that I can think of. Now I'll have to hope that she listens to reason," Arthur muttered before walking out just as Francis reached the doorway.

"Iggy?" Francis called. He regarded Ivan apologetically.

"Je suis desolee," he said. "That man can be so pigheaded."

"It's alright," Ivan said standing up. "I was just on my way out."

He hated to admit it, but some of what the limey had told him resonated within him.

He stood up and paused at the desk once more to gaze at the photo and turned to the Frenchman.

"Would it be possible to get a copy of this photograph?" he inquired.

"Ah so it is true," Francis laughed. "You and little Amelia have been seeing one another oui?"

"Da," he stated to which the Frenchie only smiled.

"How adorable! Like Beauty and the Beast," he gushed.

"I was thinking the same about you and Arthur!" Ivan retorted with an icy smile making Francis wince.

"Very well, I will have a copy made," Francis said picking up the picture. "The other woman is an Amelia as well. Amelia Earhart."

Ah da, he remembered. This must have been the woman that she had spoken of so fondly.

"She was the American pilot who disappeared?" Ivan said consideringly.

"Yes, our Amelia took it quite hard. They were very close," Francis said wistfully as he set aside the photo. "I am told that it was Madamoiselle Earhart who encouraged Amelia to get her piloting license."

Ivan's smile widened.

"Is that so? I had no idea that she knew how to fly."

"Well she did not go around spreading such information, especially to those she knew would be her adversaries," Francis remarked with a nervous chuckle while Ivan laughed uproariously as the pieces of his puzzle finally fell into place.

**I hate to keep making Iggy such a nag but it just turned out that way. So cliffy, hehehe…and he knows! Please let me know how you all liked the big reveal.**


	9. Chapter 9

I'm sorry this has taken so long! School sucked my life away so here, read this and enjoy my lovely readers! I appreciate you!

Ch 9: Who but my Blackhearted Love?

"How does he do it?" Kiku said in amazement as Tony beat the advanced level of DDR.

"Dudes got moves," Amelia said fist bumping her alien roomie as she got up to replenish her cup. "Yo you dudes want anything while I'm up?"

When they said no she just went straight for the two liter of coke in her fridge as the cell phone in her pocket started ringing.

"Hello this is America, the most kickass country on the planet speaking," she said as she answered the call while dropping two ice cubes into her cup.

"Just hurry up and get downstairs so you can let me in," Arthur's irritated voice greeted from the other line.

"Whoa Iggy? You're like actually here as in standing outside my D.C digs?" Amelia said in surprise. "What the hell dude, you could have given me some notice."

"I bloody well texted you yesterday and today when my flight took off!"

"Yeah but you said you'd be coming to see me soon. I didn't think that actually meant you ha-whatev, I'll be down in a second."

She walked through the house as Kiku and Tony continued to play video games and answered the door to find the Englishman wearing a tweed suit.

"Howdy!" Amelia greeted.

"Hello," he said with a hint of a fond smile. "It's good to see you."

"Aww thanks British dude," she said giving him quick hug before they stepped inside. "So what brings you to my sweet abode?"

"Oh nothing really, besides the world meeting tomorrow," Arthur said innocently.

"Yeah right. What's really going on?"

Kiku and Tony paused as the pair made their way to the living room.

"Hello chaps," Arthur remarked as Amelia plopped down on a red bean bag chair.

"Bugger off Limey," Tony bit out.

"Well double bugger yourself E.T!" Arthur shouted.

"Look why don't you guys go pick us up some snacks from the convenience store, I think I feel a long boring British lecture coming on," Amelia stated. "Tony wear the hoodie this time. We can't keep telling people you came from a sci-fi con."

Tony gave the thumbs up and padded off with Kiku while Arthur sat down stiffly.

"Right, I want to know what the bloody hell you're playing at with Braginsky," he remarked watching her face for a reaction.

"Oh that," Amelia laughed.

"Yes that!"

"We have alot of fun when we hang out," Amelia said with a grin.

"How can hanging out with a sociopath like Russia be fun?" Arthur shouted in exasperation. "Amelia I know you've always flouted doing things in a certain way but this is a relationship with a very dangerous person."

"You think I don't know that?" Amelia said defensively.

"You know my black magic rituals? Well nine times out of ten when I try to conjure a demon from hell I get that bloody wanker popping his head up in the middle of my pentagram. What does that say about the kind of person he is if he's summoned by the blackest of arts?"

Amelia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I don't know," she admitted.

"If you let him into your heart he could hurt you," Arthur stated.

"You're one to talk!" Amelia yelled angrily.

"Oh come now," Arthur said irritably.

"Forget it, just get out," Amelia demanded pointing towards the door.

Arthur sighed and stood up while she pretended to text on her phone.

"You know despite what you may think, I've only ever wanted what's best for you," he informed her.

(Section Break)

She sat outside the building where the World Conference would convene shortly, lost in her thoughts. She usually looked forward to these things and getting a chance to interact with everyone but today was different. Instead of thinking politics, she had a lot of personal thoughts weighing her down.

She sat swinging her legs as a figure approached her. She knew who it was without even looking and wished she could have avoided this for awhile longer. She was a fighter and not one to turn tail and run but it would have been nice for some more much needed reflection.

"Privyet," she said as Ivan sat down beside her.

"Hello," he greeted her taking a seat next to her.

"Look, I haven't decided what I want to do about this thing just yet," she said without looking at him. "I'd like some more time to figure it out."

"I can live with that," he remarked. "I however need no more time to know that I want you Mia."

She closed her eyes as he leaned in towards her and buried his face in her golden hair.

"I know your secret little one," he murmured, his breath warm against the shell of her ear.

"Which one?" she smirked slightly enjoying the warmth of him beside her.

"That you are pilot, and one of the few people who might be able to learn of my fondness for sunflowers from my sister," he stated smugly.

Her blue eyes widened and she turned to look into Ivan's triumphant face.

"Knowing this cleared any doubts in my mind about being with you."

"Because I dropped a crap ton of flowers on your house?" she said in amazement.

"Da."

"That's just stupid," she replied making his eyes spark.

"What did you say?"

"You know I jump the gun a lot but this is some snap judgment you're using," Amelia said standing up. "You're willing to overlook everything because of some flowers?"

"I am willing to make up my mind because I have now found that you gave me such a wonderful gift without demanding recognition or thanks; you did this simply for my benefit," he stated, standing up and towering over her.

"It was never meant to be some sweeping romantic gesture Ivan."

"Then what was it?" he demanded throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"I felt sorry for you okay? I never planned on becoming close. That part kind of happened by accident before I knew it."

"But you cannot deny that it has happened," Ivan pressed her.

"Look I like you, but that doesn't mean we should do this. I need to think about it first and decide whether or not…"

He eyed her with hard purple eyes and squeezed her hand just a little tightly.

"Say it."

"Whether or not you're worth the risk," she finished.

He stepped back with a pained look on his face.

"You're entitled to your views and reasoning. What I resent is that no one seems to acknowledge that I too have a heart."

He took Amelia's hand and pressed it to his chest for a moment, closing his eyes as he felt her skin warm him. She blinked when she felt the rapidly beating organ underneath her fingers; for as often as she had called him heartless in the past, she could feel it now, warm and alive beneath her fingers. With his brow furrowed he released her hand and started to walk away.

"It angers me to think that everyone believes that you are the only one with something to lose," he replied in a harsh tone.

He didn't wait for a reply but stalked off angrily leaving Amelia standing by herself.

(Section Break)

Amelia hung back as the meeting ended. Usually she got right up and started chatting everyone up. This time she just wanted to leave and get food.

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and looked up in surprise to find Francis standing behind her chair.

"Amelia ma belle, did you enjoy the meeting?"

"Look dude I am really not in the mood for this right now.."

"I was hoping you would join me for dinner," Francis continued, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing it lightly. "Arthur does not want me talking to you; if we slipped away it would make him furious."

She chuckled and stood up.

"Frenchie you just said the magic words," she smirked, grabbing his hand. "You're good at running away right? Let's book it!"

They took off in a sprint, hearing the irate shouts of a well known English voice calling after them. She laughed her head off until she caught sight of a familiar figure wearing a pink scarf. Ivan turned to see what the commotion was about and locked eyes with her for a second before they passed him. She didn't look back, her gut telling her to just keep going and blow off some steam with at least a free meal.

They found their way to a little bistro tucked away that served good French comfort food in a cozy small space.

Francis sighed, swirling the wine in his glass after Amelia placed her order.

"You are just like him, ordering every piece of meat well done."

"Yeah well it's what I was brought up on, at least after that whole fun custody battle when I was a kid," Amelia said with a testy smile.

"You are very tense, not your usual sunny self," Francis observed. "Could it perhaps have to do with a certain Russian?"

She stared at him over the water glasses, looking serious now, no trace of teasing or a smile remaining.

"I'm sure Iggy's filled you in about that," she stated.

"Actually mon petit, I realized it long before Arthur began fretting like a mother hen," he remarked. "I am the country of love, I can spot the first stirrings of affection in others the same way some people can find the finer details in a painting. I recognized it when I last spoke with Ivan, and I think you carry more than your fair share of blossoming affection for him."

Amelia nodded finally and he smiled.

"I am certain that many people will be coming to you, offering their advice on whether you should become entangled with Braginsky so I thought I would offers some perspective against whatever cautionary tale Arthur might have told you," he said.

"You two are like a couple of old ladies I swear. Definitely meant to be," she smirked.

"It is interesting that you would say that," Francis remarked. "We were at odds for most of our lives as you know."

"Yeah heard that. He sure badmouthed you enough when I was growing up," she replied.

"There was not just badmouthing cherie, but lots of heartache and blood shed as well," he stared into his drink in contemplation. "So many wasted years and we still managed to find one another in the end.."

He smiled slightly.

"I consider myself lucky that we were able to overcome so much distrust and animosity," he sighed looking at her across the table. "It makes your little squabble with Ivan look cute in comparision."

"You think the Cold War was cute?" she laughed with a dangerous glint in her blue eyes.

"Oui, when you consider how long it was. It was an intense time for you, but less than a century long. Arthur and I were enemies for centuries. I simply wanted to bring that to your attention so you would take that into consideration when it comes time for you to make a choice regarding this new love in your life."

"So just out of curiosity, are you for this thing me and him have going on?"

"Well I will not pretend that he would be my first choice," he shrugged. "But you are a grown woman and one who is entitled to find her own version of happiness."

"That was oddly deep Francis."

He chuckled.

"I am far from a stereotype Cherie. The same way that there is more to you then the Superpower with a penchant for fastfood."

"It's convenient when you're on the go," she said. "Not exactly time to sit down to a gourmet meal when you're jetting from one location to the next."

"So there is more to us countries than meets the eye it seems. Perhaps the same is true for Mother Russia as well."

"Oooh that was kind of sneaky!"

Francis merely smiled and finished his wine.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry this has taken so long, I have no excuse guys. Enjoy.**

Ch 10: No Day But Today

Amelia wrapped her arms around her middle as she walked down the busy Vancouver sidewalk. Things were really hopping, the city was completely crowded due to the upcoming Olympics. Matthew was completely overwhelmed so she had decided not to invite herself to stay at his place so she wouldn't have to deal with her brother's freak outs.

She arrived at the hotel where she was staying and strolled through the lobby ready to return to her warm room and order some room service. The desk staff waved to her and she grinned their way, completely not paying attention as she walked hard into a solid mass. Amelia stumbled back and groaned as a pair of hands grasped her shoulders. As she opened her eyes she was bemused to find a pair of huge boobs in her face; well they were in a sweater but still.

"Are you alright Amelia?" Katya murmured, directing the stunned nation to sit in a chair by the fireside lounge.

"I just ran straight into your tits," Amelia said dazedly. "How are you even tall enough for that to be possible?"

"Hmm? Oh I am wearing my parka boots," Katya said with a smile. "Matvey enjoys the way they look."

"Huh," Amelia remarked recovering from the impact. "How is the little Canuck?"

"A little tense," Katya sighed. "But tonight I insisted we are having nice relaxing pancake dinner, just the two of us."

"Cute," Amelia said. "So how come you're at my hotel? Did you drop by to see your favorite North American?"

"I did stop by your room to see if you were around after I saw Natalia and Ivan," Katya remarked making Amelia's eyes widen. "Apparently their room reservations became mixed up and someone had put the two of them in the honeymoon sweet together. Vanya was quite upset."

"I'll bet," Amelia grimaced. "I didn't realize any other countries were staying here, but I guess that's what you get with this being the most kick ass hotel in the city."

"Da," the older nation replied. "I am going to return home-I mean to Matvey's home."

Amelia smiled at the slip. Those two were becoming pretty serious and she was glad for it.

"Sure thing. We'll have to go out for some poutine while we're here for the Winter games," Amelia said.

"Of course!"

"Hey sis wait!"

Amelia's heart skipped a beat as the heavily accented Russian voice met her ears. She looked over to see Ivan rushing towards Katya with a pair of pink gloves in his hand.

It had been sometime since the World Meeting. She's been considering things, not wanting to rush in. For all her rashness, she wanted to make the right decision so no one got hurt. Now it seemed like it was time to go ahead with her choice.

"You nearly forgot. I know these Canadian winters are mild but you should not go out without them," Ivan remarked handing over the gloves.

Amelia stood up from her seat and Ivan finally noticed her. His purple eyes softened and he opened his mouth, but then closed it.

"Privyet Ivan," she greeted him.

"Hello Amelia."

"I'll see you both later," Katya said looking from her brother to her friend with a curious expression on her face. She leaned up and kissed Ivan on the cheek before waving and heading off.

"So uh looks like we booked the same hotel," she ventured unnecessarily.

"Da," Ivan said. "I-have you been well?"

She nodded feeling the urge to just wrap in her arms and hug him. But maybe later.

"Yeah I'm good," she stated. "But uh, I was wondering if we could maybe talk?"

"Alright," Ivan said cautiously.

"It would probably be better if we did this in my room," Amelia said determinedly, even though her face was hot and blushing.

Ivan licked his lips nervously and simply followed her in silence to the elevator. Amelia pressed the button for her floor and stood beside Ivan, already becoming overwhelmed by his warm presence and that scent of his that she realized she had missed. Out of the corner of her eye she could see his hands twisting slightly, nervously and that made her feel a little better. Now all they had to do was survive the short ride upstairs and talk things over. Shouldn't be too hard.

"Hold the elevator please!"

Ivan pressed the open button and Amelia sighed. Well at least having a few people would make things less tense. That was until about six burly athletic men piled in, pushing Amelia against towards the wall. Ivan shifted and put himself between her and the other men, pushing back to give her enough space. She looked up at him as the doors closed. His hands were pressed beside her forearms on the wall of the lift, his body so close she could feel his warmth as she remained pressed back against the wall. His eyes were closed, his brow knit slightly and his breathing irregular. She was becoming intoxicated with his scent, vodka and snow, drowning in it. Her hands clutched at the front of his sweater and she closed her eyes, as the presence of the other men faded away.

Finally after times seemed to stretch and crawl with them pressed up against one another, the elevator reached the first stop and the men filed out leaving nothing but the sound of harsh breaths and slightly shaking limbs.

"I think we should definitely not go back to my room," Amelia said more breathily than she'd intended, focusing on the front of the dark blue sweater in front of her.

"Why is that?" Ivan managed to ask in a husky voice.

Amelia's fingers dug into the fuzzy sweater as she looked up to find dilated heavy lidded purple eyes fixed on her.

"If we go in there," she murmured. "Dude I just wanna pounce on you…."

"Amelia stop torturing me!" Ivan cried out desperately. "I have been waiting for you and so fearful that you would reject me!"

The door opened and blue eyes met purple as they stared at one another.

"I was gonna tell you that I think we start going out," Amelia replied as the doors closed with a ping.

Ivan muttered something in Russian and hauled Amelia up into his arms. She gasped and locked her legs around his waist, while of his hands moved to cup her ass as she arms wound around his neck. Ivan's leg shot out and side kicked the emergency stop button halting their descent.

"That was so hot," she said in awe just before his mouth crashed over hers. His was warm, lips still chapped and she clung frantically to him, her mouth opening immediately as their tongues touched, fighting for control of the kiss.

He pressed her back against the wall, feeling dizzy and giddy. He had missed the taste of that lip gloss, a hint of cola clinging to her tongue as he tangled his hand in her hair and groaned into her mouth.

But eventually he pulled away, resting his face against her neck as he caught his breath.

"Little one," he sighed. "Does this mean you would accept an invitation to have dinner in a few weeks?"

She smiled, nodding breathlessly .

"Yeah I accept," she replied, looking up at him with her blue eyes.

She was gonna remember the way he smiled back at her, the way his mouth turned up softly and his purple eyes crinkled for a long time.


End file.
